Pray 4 Mercy
by Xorncon - Number 0
Summary: Zoey, and the crew from Back 4 More have returned, and are kicking more zombie ass than usual. However, as their quest for survival continues they encounter new friends, and uncover new mysteries about the Green Flu virus...
1. Prologue

A horde of zombies rushed a small motel in the middle of nowhere, becoming attracted to the sound of a fire alarm which pierced through the silence of the emptiness surrounding the entire area. One of the doors flew open and a young woman wearing blue jeans, a black tank top, and a pink jacket, with dark brown hair, wielding two pistols came stumbling out. Zoey looked around, seeing zombies flooding towards her.

"Shit," the brunette shouted before firing randomly into the horde. One by one the zombies fell, but there was no way in hell she'd be able to finish them all off on her own. Zoey pulled out a pipe bomb then hurled it forward. The bomb beeped and flashed as it flew over the heads of dozens of zombies and landed in the center of the horde. The zombies all turned and headed towards the bomb, all trying to silence the beeping explosive. The explosion blew a large number of the zombies into chunks, but many more still remained and charged at Zoey. "Damn it!"

"Watch your ass!" Zoey ducked as gunfire rang out and started mowing down the nearby zombies. The brunette looked up, seeing a blonde man, wearing a black button up shirt, and khaki pants, wielding an AK-47 with a smoking barrel giving her covering fire. "God damn it Zoey," Doc exclaimed. "You think you'd learn to watch your ass by now!"

"Apparently you do that enough for me Doc," Zoey replied with a taunting smirk.

"God damn it, I hate whoever started this joke!" Doc started sending bullets into the horde. "Oh Doc's a fucking perverted pedophile who likes little boys and girls."

"Hey," Zoey said, bashing a zombies head in with her pistol. "As long as you can admit it!"

"God damn it, that's not funny!"

Zoey looked around, firing at any zombie that moved towards her. Within the center of a horde, shotgun bursts rang out and zombie pieces started flying through the air. Zoey and Doc looked over, seeing a bulky man with a tank top, military pants, with shaven hair and a goatee, wielding a shotgun and machete, killing and climbing over the piles of corpses at his feet with a smile on his face.

"Come on ya bloody mouthed sons a bitches, Alan's mighty fine this time of year!"

"Did he just make a Zombieland reference…_again_," Doc questioned. Zoey opened her mouth to speak, but shoved Doc out of the way as a Boomer nearly threw up on him. Doc grunted as he rolled across the ground and looked up at the obese zombie that walked into the clearing. "God damn smelly ass Boomers!" Doc fired a shot from his AK, causing the Boomer to explode.

"Hey, I was standing, like, a foot away from that thing!"

"WOO, bring it on baby," Alan shouted as he hacked and blasted away at zombies.

"He seems to be making the most of this," Doc stated casually.

"Doesn't he always," Zoey murmured. The trio all moved with their backs against the wall, firing away at the advancing horde, knocking back any zombies that got too close to them. "This is getting thick!"

"That's what she said," Alan screamed, going nuts over the massacre he hasn't experienced in some time. Zoey and Doc both groaned, rolling their eyes with disgust. Suddenly, a Hunter flew out from the roof above the survivors' heads, landing on the side of a vehicle across from the trio and was lost in the horde. "Shit, where'd that thing go?"

A loud shriek echoed out as the Hunter soared over the horde and went straight towards the survivors. The trio was too busy shooting the zombies in front of them that they had no time to aim their weapons upward and fire. Suddenly, another figure jumped out from the rooftop and grabbed the Hunter in midair. The two figures spun around before landing on the hood of a car with a dull thud. The trio finished off the last of the zombies and looked over to where another survivor was wrestling with the Hunter on the hood of a car.

"Son of a—come here you little! Got ya!" The survivor lifted a knife above his head then stabbed it deep into the chest of the beast. The Hunter shrieked with pain and rolled over, attempting to crawl away. The survivor moved up and twisted the Hunter's head, snapping its neck.

"Dang, killed that thing Rambo style," Alan exclaimed.

The survivor had long, shoulder length hair that was parted in the middle, hazel eyes, wearing a bloody T-shirt and blue jeans. He sighed as he placed his hands to his back and pushed forward. A cracking sound was heard as Jamie let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, good thing a car was there to break my fall, I mean back."

"You're honestly going to kill yourself from doing stupid shit," Doc snapped.

"That's what I want my tombstone to say," Jamie replied with a mocking smirk. The survivor looked over to Zoey who was chuckling a bit. "Well, who set off the alarm that time?" Doc and Zoey pointed to Alan.

"Hey, I didn't know fire alarms still worked during the apocalypse!"

"Why wouldn't they," Doc questioned.

"Who is gonna pull a fire alarm when their bigger problems are most likely-," Cutting Alan off, a car, spinning through the air behind Jamie and smashed through a brick wall. "Flying cars…"

"Tank," Zoey shouted, immediately firing at the giant zombie. Jamie hopped down from the car and started firing from his magnum while Zoey popped it with her double pistols.

"What better way to finish things off," Alan shouted, taking cover behind a car, "than to fight tooth and nail with a Tank! I love my job!"

"Since when were we getting paid," Doc cried out, unleashing bullets from his AK.

"You're alive aren't you," Alan called out before popping out of cover to fire his shotgun. The Tank roared as the bullets hit his thick skin before he punched the nearest car. "Hit the deck!" Doc and Alan ducked behind their respective vehicles while Jamie and Zoey were still running.

"Shit," Jamie shouted before tackling Zoey. The car flew over their heads and crashed just behind Alan and Doc. "You okay?"

"Fine," Zoey spat out quickly, pushing Jamie away.

The two survivors rolled away from each other as the Tank smashed one of its fists in the pavement. Zoey and Jamie got up, the latter crouching, and started firing into the massive Tank. The monster roared as it swung both of its arms outward, causing both survivors to back away.

"Hey," Alan shouted, running over his vehicle, walking confidently towards the Tank. "Over here big man!" Alan fired a shot, taking a small chunk out of the beast, causing it to roar with pain. The beast turned around, seeing Alan walking towards him, shotgun raised. "Come on ya fuckin Tank! I'll kick your ass all day long baby!" The Tank snorted and snarled before moving towards Alan.

"What the hell are you doing," Doc shouted.

"This is for Maria man, don't try and stop me!" Alan continued walking towards the Tank then stopped as the beast continued charging him. "Right here baby! I got a big bull's-eye on me! Come and get some!"

The Tank roared with rage, only to be drowned out by the sound of a loud horn. Alan grinned mischievously while the Tank stopped and turned to the noise. There were bright headlights before a semi smashed through the beast and crashed through a brick wall, throwing dust and smoke up everywhere. The survivors looked over as a few loose bricks fell down. The rear lights lit up and a loud, repetitive beeping was heard as the truck backed up.

"Looks like the Optimus Prime is finally helping us out," Zoey stated with a smile. Jamie rolled his eyes as he was the only one close enough to hear the joke. The driver's door opened and a young girl with black hair stumbled out.

"That was cool," Maria shouted. Alan quickly caught her by the arm as she nearly hit the floor. "You guys SO owe me!"

"What're you talking about? I set you up for that kill." The bulky survivor placed Maria on his back then walked over towards Jamie.

"Yeah, but what if I wasn't ready yet?"

"Wait, you two planned that," Doc questioned.

"Sort of," Maria replied with a shrug. Doc and Alan stopped in front of Jamie and Zoey. "Plan of action sir," Maria asked with a mocking salute.

"Yeah, you laugh now," Jamie sniped. "Why did we come to this hotel again?"

"Radio," Doc answered.

"Ah, well, I say we get back in our heavily armored military vehicle then see where the road takes us. Let's do that, and get Maria some common sense or something…"

"You're just mad because you couldn't impress Zoey with an awesome Tank kill."

"Yeah," Jamie sarcastically replied, rolling his eyes. "Cause I don't have enough impressive Tank kills yet."

"You're just mad because she likes me more," Maria joked.

Jamie turned around, walking backwards as he stared at the black haired girl, "Even if that were true…shut up." Maria grinned and giggled as Jamie turned back around.

Zoey sighed with a smile, being happy for the first time in a very long while. Well, as happy as one could be while in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Things with the team seemed to be back to normal. Well, as normal as things could get in a zombie apocalypse.

"Why don't we have music," Alan asked. "Seriously, we never listen to the radio, so why don't we just jack some CDs or something and jam out?"

"Find some CDs," Jamie sighed out.

"And we need to think of a theme song," Alan continued. "I was thinking something like the Midnight Riders!"

"Yeah," Doc laughed. "What do you know about the Midnight Riders kid?"

"I know that they're amazing," Alan shouted.

"And they're frauds who lip sync," Jamie murmured.

"Oh don't start this again," Alan exclaimed. "You have no solid factual proof that says that the Midnight Riders lip synced to ANY of their songs!"

"They actually did," Doc stated. Alan threw his head back and screamed before turning his enraged glare to the blonde.

"I thought you liked the Midnight Riders!"

"I do, but this way I get to make you angry." Alan groaned, muttering under his breath while Doc snickered.

The group turned the corner of an overturned car, seeing their heavily armored military issued vehicle sitting peacefully on the side of the road. Jamie walked up and opened the door, holding it open as Zoey got in first. Maria jumped down from Alan's back and followed after her. Doc got in the driver's side while Alan got in the seat next to him. Jamie got in the back with Zoey and Maria, and closed the door. Doc started the vehicle then rode down the road. Zoey smiled as she looked out, seeing the sun rising over the horizon. She had a good feeling that things were going right after the incident with Maria…

**

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They're ! Also, I'm going to throw in a few surprises in the future that definitely will make this story more BA like the title, and I'll use One 4 All in another, much shorter spin off…again lol. Hope you enjoyed it, read and review please =D**


	2. Drama Queen

**Flashback chapter! This is what happened after that bitch of a cliffhanger at the end of Back 4 More! And then some lol**

* * *

Everyone hovered over Maria, watching and waiting as her eyelids twitched, about to open. The black haired girl opened her eyes, but groaned and immediately closed them again, turning her head away from the brightness.

"Why's that so bright," the girl moaned.

"Is that a good thing," Jamie asked.

"Sensitivity to light, and the fact she's not thrashing around like an animal, or rather zombie, yes that's a very good thing."

"So is she cured," Zoey questioned.

"I hope so, but I'd still have to run a few tests to be sure," Doc replied. "However, I'd say Maria is going to be perfectly fine."

"YES," Zoey shouted before throwing her hands up in the air. Jamie placed one hand on the nearest desk for support and sighed heavily with relief. Alan was sniffling with joy, causing the others to look over at him, giving the bulky survivor an odd look.

"Don't look at me like that," Alan snapped tearfully. "Can't a man cry without being judged?" Alan threw his head down on Jamie's shoulder and began sobbing. Jamie patted the bigger man's back.

Around half an hour later, Alan and Jamie were patrolling the building to make sure no zombies were around, Doc was running countless tests on Maria's blood, and Zoey was talking to the young girl still strapped to the bed.

"Weird how Doc said I'd be fine, and yet I still can't move. AND I'M HUNGRY!"

"Your irritability doesn't show good signs of progress," Doc called out casually.

"I'm only irritable because I'm hungry! Can't I have like a sandwich or something? Please, I'm dying over here!"

"Doc said there's a chance you could still puke it up if the virus in your body isn't dead or out of your system."

"Hey, puking sounds like a chipper way to get a virus out of my freaking body," Maria shouted. "I want food! Seriously, you could give me some ketchup packets!" Doc continued humming as he flipped through test results and walked around the lab. "It doesn't do you any good to do all this work if I'm just going to die of starvation anyway!"

"You're being a drama queen," Doc sighed out.

"I am not!"

"Zoey, tell her she's being a drama queen."

"I'm not getting caught between this," Zoey said, rolling back in her chair. Maria stuck her tongue out at Doc, who simply continued his tests. Zoey smiled then rolled back next Maria's bed.

"So aside from the empty stomach how are you feeling?"

"Ya know? I surprisingly don't feel like a zombie. Hey Doc, I think you can let me go now!"

"I need to be one hundred percent," Doc replied calmly.

"God damn it," Maria muttered.

"Watch your mouth," Zoey snapped. "Just because you almost died doesn't mean you can swear like that. What would Jamie say if he heard you just now?"

"Say 'watch your mouth.' Besides, I'm not worried about what Jamie says, unlike you." Zoey narrowed her eyes, causing Maria to smirk tauntingly. "Did you talk to him? Did you admit to him your undying love for him?" Zoey resisted the urge to laugh, but still a smirk formed across her face.

"My 'undying love'?" Maria nodded eagerly. "I told him I like him. We both agreed it would be better if we just stayed friends." Maria's eye twitched slightly with a look of disbelief on her face.

"You just said 'I like you Jamie?' Why didn't you tell him you love him!"

"Because I don't," Zoey replied calmly. "And shush, Doc might hear you."

"DOC! Zoey likes Jamie!" Zoey gapped with shock before spinning around towards Doc.

"I know," Doc called back, "busy right now." Zoey turned back to Maria, her face angry and red with embarrassment.

"What's the matter with you," Zoey hissed.

"He doesn't care," Maria snapped. "Why in the world did Jamie say it would be better if you just stay friends?"

"Because there are more serious matters to deal with, like, oh I dunno, a zombie apocalypse."

"BAH! The apocalypse is no match for true love!" Zoey blinked a few times with confusion before turning her head over her shoulder.

"Is she high on pain killers?" Doc looked up for a moment to think before facing Zoey and shrugging. "Great," the brunette murmured.

"My high has nothing to do with what I'm sellin sista!"

"Preach on," Doc shouted with a tone dead voice. Zoey veered around, glaring at the back of the blonde's head. Clearly he just wanted to encourage Maria and annoy Zoey at the same time. Sometimes this group was so immature…

"Doc, would strangling Maria affect the infection in anyway," Zoey asked.

"The infection no, but it's not good for her overall health," Doc replied. "And I still have a gun so I could shoot you if you try anything funny." Zoey scowled then looked back at the young girl lying in bed.

"Why don't you tell him the truth," Maria questioned.

"Alright, fine…" Zoey turned to Doc again, "Doc, you're an asshole!"

"Thanks for that, really, you just made my day so much better."

"Happy, I told him the truth." Maria groaned then rolled her eyes, looking away from Zoey. The brunette sighed then slumped over with defeat. "I tried alright, but we came to an understanding. I promise the minute we're out of this I'm going to ask Jamie out on a date alright?"

"No," Maria snapped. Zoey blinked with confusion before Maria turned to her. "You're gonna give him a big ol kiss once we're out of this whole mess." Zoey rolled her eyes then smiled, causing Maria to laugh a bit.

"Good news everyone," Doc exclaimed.

"Uh oh, I don't like the sound of that." Maria giggled as Doc walked over to the table.

"Oh but you will in a second." The blonde undid the straps on the bed, allowing Maria to move about once more. "Maria's cured, and immune." Zoey and Maria's jaws dropped. Doc stared at the two gapping young women before realizing he should continue. "The virus apparently caused her immune system to kick into overdrive, which isn't always a good thing. Sometimes the immune system works itself too hard which leaves an infection or virus free to kill or infect a person. That's why it infects so many people."

"But Maria's immune system was going into overdrive right," Zoey asked.

"Yes, and normally even if I did cure the virus, her immune system would be next to worthless. However, it seems as if the vaccine I made didn't really kill all of the Green Flu…per say…" Again, Doc got confused, empty stares from Maria and Zoey. "The vaccine killed most of the Green Flu to the point where it would be impossible to become infected, unless you drank about four gallons of Boomer bile." Maria cringed at the thought. "But there still is a bit inside of you, but the vaccine somehow converted that bit of the infection into partial cells."

"Alright, you need to dumb it down about forty notches there Doc." Maria sighed as she rubbed her temples which were aching from trying to process what the blonde was saying.

"Basically, my vaccine mutated a small portion of the Green Flu virus into cells that work with your body. So as simply as I can put this: you're immune just like the rest of us."

"But we don't have Green Flu cells inside us do we," Zoey questioned. "Doc you mad scientist you! I knew you injected us with the virus while we slept!"

"Ha, but no. I still have no idea how normal immune people are immune, but I can safely say _we_ do not have the Green Flu in us, but Maria _does_ have a harmless amount of Green Flu in her that's been more or less pacified in the body. It's like turning a criminal into a highly respectable businessman."

"So…I have the Green Flu inside me," Maria asked. Doc nodded. "So that means…I could have SUPERPOWERS!"

"Huh," Zoey and Doc questioned, tilting their heads to the side.

"Think about it, I have the Green Flu, and it mutated! I could jump like a Hunter, or have the claws of a Witch, or the muscles of a Tank!"

"Uh, no," Doc replied quickly. "The Green Flu mutates a person's body, and that's what makes the zombies and special infected. Your body on the other hand has mutated the Green Flu to _its_ natural system. So no, you're not going to be jumping leaping over buildings, punching cars, or tearing anything in half with your fingernails."

"Awe," Maria shouted before sitting down, crossing her arms. "You suck…" Doc rolled his eyes then turn to Zoey who was giggling at the pouting girl.

"So how much will I have to dumb this down for Jamie and Alan," Doc questioned. The two girls' eyes widened before they slowly turned their heads to one another.

* * *

"I GOT THIS ONE!" Zoey shook her head, coming out of her flashback quickly to see Alan leaning out of the window with a baseball bat. With a mighty swing, he decapitated a zombie with a blunt object. "WOO!" Alan sat back in his seat with a huge grin on his face. "Tell me that wasn't cool!"

"That wasn't cool," Doc snapped quickly.

"Hey, you want your head to be up next?"

"Please, that was the first zombie you've hit in an hour. You're losing your skills man." Alan scowled then leaned forward before a shiny metal blade came between him and the blonde. Alan's eyes widened before they followed the blade to Jamie who had a taunting smirk on his face.

"He's driving," Jamie said simply. Alan muttered than sat back down in his seat.

"I am _not_ losing my touch…"

"Dude, quit being a drama queen," Jamie told Alan. Zoey smile then relaxed in her seat a bit more, looking out the window.

"I am not being a drama queen," Alan snapped.

"We need to get him a Snickers," Doc chimed in. Jamie and Doc 'snickered' at the joke while Alan mumbled angrily, staring out the window.

"We seriously need some music," Maria finally sighed out.

"Thank you," Alan exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"We need CDs for that," Doc stated with an irritated voice. "Find a rack of CDs just lying on the side of the road and we'll listen to all the music you kids want to."

"Actually," Zoey spoke up. "Who wants to go shopping?" The gang turned to the brunette before looking out the window and seeing a huge Wal-Mart across the road.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure that place _won't_ have a lot of zombies in it," Doc sarcastically stated.

**

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Well…sorry for the shortness of this chapter, I just thought it was a good place to end for now. The next chapter will be full of zombie killing while playing in Wal-Mart! Oh my god tell me that wouldn't be fun! It wouldn't be? Well I'll make it fun damn it! Leave reviews please =)**


	3. WalMart

Alan walked into the Wal-Mart first, looking around and seeing no zombies anywhere. The bulky survivor simply turned to his right and walked up to customer services. "Hello, I need some assistance!" A zombie reared its ugly face over the counter, only to have its head blown to chunks by Alan's shotgun. "Thank you for your help. God I love this store!"

"Why are we here again," Doc asked, walking behind Jamie. "Aside to satisfy Alan's lust for killing zombies?"

"To get CDs because apparently we can't live without music. Wasting time and ammunition by killing a Wal-Mart full of zombies however, forget about it."

"I have an idea," Alan shouted. Doc and Jamie groaned as Alan spun around. "Maria, do you have something blunt?" Maria looked around for a moment before grabbing a baseball bat.

"Yep," she replied with a wide smile.

"Great!" Alan grabbed a shopping cart then pulled it next to Maria. "Jump in, and you're gonna bash some zombies' faces in!"

"SWEET!" Maria jumped into the cart and Alan rushed off with the black haired girl cheering until they were out of sight.

"Well, that saves bullets," Zoey stated with a shrug.

"Whatever, let's just get some CDs before they get too caught up in zombie killing and forget." Doc and Zoey followed Jamie back to the electronics section while Alan and Maria went on a rampage.

Maria shouted and cheered as a pair of zombies up ahead turned and snarled at them. Maria pulled her arms back then swung with all her might, cracking the wooden bat against the first zombie's face. The bones in its face all collapsed under the blow, and the zombie fell on its back with a thud. Maria wound up her stance again and swung at the second zombie, this time knocking its block off…literally. Maria shrieked with terror and excitement at what she had just done while Alan simply laughed.

"Home run!"

"Holy crap that was so cool!"

"Heads up!" Maria turned her head around and yelped as she ducked under a zombie's attempt to grab her. Before they passed the zombie, Alan gave it a quick jab in the face, knocking it on its back. "You okay?"

"Peachy," Maria shouted. The girl held out the bat to Alan, "You sure you don't want this?" Alan made a face before turning a corner, propping the cart up on two wheels. Around the corner however was a horde of zombies that just stood around until they smelled fresh meat. Alan and Maria's eyes widened before they looked at each other. "Run now?"

"Yeah let's." Alan quickly spun the cart around then ran for dear life as he and Maria screamed from the pursuing horde of zombies.

Jamie, Doc, and Zoey heard their screams, the former two groaning while Zoey rushed towards the sound. Jamie and Doc looked at each other then played a quick game or rock, paper, scissors. Jamie won, much to Doc's dismay, and they followed after Zoey.

Alan and Maria went into the gardening section, which for some reason was mostly cleared out. Maria hopped out and ran off while Alan tried to look for any type of a weapon. Unfortunately the bulky survivor didn't notice Maria running off until she was already gone. Alan scowled then pulled out his machete and turned to where the horde was coming from. The first anxious zombie got a well deserved chop across the face and fell to the ground with blood pouring out of the gash in his face. Alan backed up and continued to slice zombies one by one and shoving back the rest. Alan's back was against the wall and a fearful look washed over his face. The zombies screamed as they closed in. Alan prepared himself to go out swinging, but something caught his attention. The survivor looked up to see the entire rack he was standing under leaning forward with dozens of fertilizer bags on top. The rack fell over, dropping countless heavy bags on top of zombies' heads. The rack itself did some damage as well, but the bags dropping directly on the zombies cracked some necks or smashed some skulls against the ground. Alan's jaw dropped with amazement. An entire horde had just been taken out by nothing more than bags of fertilizer. How was he supposed to beat that?

"Yoo hoo," a voice called out. Alan looked up, seeing Maria handing onto the wall. "A little help here?"

"Did you do that?"

"Yes, now can you help me?"

"That's impressive," Alan exclaimed, sheathing his machete onto his back. "Seriously, I'm in awe. Drop down, I'll catch you." Maria looked up to pray then down again and let go. She fell and let out a brief scream before Alan caught her. "See, told ya I'd catch you." Maria made the same face Alan made at her moments ago then jumped down to the floor. Jamie, Zoey, and Doc came around the corner, all breathless from so much running.

"Where are the zombies," Doc asked. Alan and Maria pointed to the bags of fertilizer. The other three survivors looked to the bags then back at Alan and Maria. Doc rolled his eyes, Jamie just shrugged it off, and Zoey seemed quite impressed. "Can we just get the CDs and get out please?"

"What's wrong Doc, jealous you didn't get to kill any zombies," Alan questioned.

"No, I'm annoyed by the fact that you almost got yourself killed when it was _you_ who wanted to get those damn CDs in the first place!"

"Oh you're absolutely no fun," Alan muttered.

The gang of five went to the electronics section and started looking through the CD selections. So far, they had _nothing_ they could agree on. Maria grabbed a CD then blew the dust off of it.

"How about Three Days Grace?" The other four survivors straightened up then looked at one another. "What?"

"Didn't we…play one of their songs while killing zombies," Doc asked.

"Yeah, it was in that mall," Zoey replied. "We played Pain, and then a bunch of zombies ran up and we killed them all somehow…" The four looked to each other then back at Maria.

"No," the four shouted. Maria gave a ticked off look then tossed the CD over her shoulder.

"Well we're going have to decide on something," Maria stated angrily. "I'm still angry that you said no to Hannah Montana!" Alan turned around, holding two CDs in each hand.

"I don't care how old you are, I am _not_ listening to her!"

"How about Lady Gaga," Jamie asked. Alan spun around with an outraged look on his face.

"Hell to the no!"

"I say yes," Maria replied. Jamie and Alan turned to Maria with shocked looks. "Alan said no, so I want to make him made."

"Who did you say," Zoey called out from the book section.

"Gaga," Jamie replied.

"Get it," Zoey shouted. Alan's jaw dropped with shock.

"What the hell, why does everyone hate me?"

"I don't, I just love Gaga. Plus you had no solid grounds to reject Hannah Montana." Alan rolled his eyes then shook his head, looking through the rest of the CDs. Zoey looked over, seeing Doc staring at the TVs on display. Zoey hummed curiously then walked towards the blonde then stood next to him. "What's up Doc?"

"God I wish I would've bought one of these."

"Why didn't you," Zoey asked.

"I was saving my money for my wedding that never happened," Doc muttered. Zoey pressed her lips together awkwardly. "And I didn't have much free time after that. I was sued for beating the crap out of the other guy, and I had to go to Mercy Hospital back and forth almost every day…I didn't really have time to go out and buy plasma screen TVs." Zoey placed a reassuring hand on Doc's shoulder. The blonde bit his lower lip and sighed. "Ah well, nothing I can do about it now right?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Doc rolled his eyes to Zoey and smiled.

"I have bigger concerns than worrying about what could've been. I have to keep my head in the game and kill zombies." Zoey smiled then rubbed the doctor's arm before walking back towards the books. Doc took a breath then sighed before following after the brunette.

"Is there any Paramore," Zoey asked.

"Ten four," Jamie replied, holding up two CDs from said band. "Alan, do you have any protests?" The bulky survivor gave Jamie the finger then tossed another CD across the store.

"3 Doors Down," Alan asked. "Is that something we can agree on?" The gang looked to each other then shrugged, turned back to Alan, and nodded. "Thank you, finally I pick something you all can agree on."

"Stop pouting," Doc snapped, reading the back of a book.

"I'm not pouting," Alan shot back. Jamie and Zoey turned to one another with expectant smiles on their faces. Same dance, new day.

"You're pouting just because you lost the Gaga CD feud, and now everyone is mad because you don't like _their_ music."

"That has nothing to do with anything! And I am _not_ pouting!"

"I didn't say you were that time." Maria rolled her eyes then flipped a CD case over, looking at the track list. "You should've just let Maria get the Hannah Montana CD."

"We have a system," Alan snapped. "This is a democracy where we _vote_ to make a joint decision."

"It's the zombie apocalypse," Doc screamed. "There's no democracy here!" Maria groaned and rolled her head around with agitation. Jamie and Zoey looked back at each other then over at Alan and Doc.

"Well excuse me for trying to keep things orderly and civil around here! I guess I'm just old fashion that way!"

"Please, you had an RPG on your back for like a week and you wanted to use it every five minutes! How is that civil? And the only way you're 'old fashion' is from the fact that you use a shotgun to shoot zombies."

"Hey, that RPG helped us," Alan shouted. "Remember when I killed half of that horde and those two Tanks chasing you, Jamie, and Zoey? You can't tell me that didn't save your life!"

"Out of the how many times your zombie driven blood lust almost got me killed? Remember when we went to go for pizza?"

"Oh you're _still_ bringing that up? That happened almost two weeks ago man!"

"Alright, ladies, ladies," Jamie exclaimed. "Stop fighting or I'm putting you both in timeout." Doc and Alan gave hardened stares at Jamie, causing the younger to take a small step back. "Never mind then…"

"Honestly, you two arguing about trivial things gets old fast," Zoey replied. The brunette looked at a CD curiously. "Alan, how do you feel about a WWE soundtrack? Seriously, who needs something like this?"

"What songs are on the back," Alan asked, walking towards Zoey. Doc shook his head and opened his mouth to speak. Jamie and Maria quickly pointed their finger menacingly at Doc. The blonde held his hands up then turned around.

"Alright so what CDs to we have so far," Jamie asked, looking to Maria who was going through the basket.

"Paramore, 3 Doors Down, Lady Gaga, Disturbed…" Maria looked up to Jamie then moved her finger over her mouth. Jamie tilted his head in confusion. Maria looked over towards Alan then took a Hannah Montana CD and put it in the basket. "AFI, Linkin Park…that's about it."

"I think that's good enough for now," Jamie called out. Alan and Zoey turned around, the latter placing the soundtrack back on the rack.

"Why'd you put it back," Alan asked. "Nobody is gonna use it." Alan grabbed the CD then hurled it across the store. "See, that works too." Zoey chuckled and simply shook her head.

"Come on ladies," Maria shouted. "We're leaving with or without you. Although we know Jamie would never leave without you Zoey." Maria grinned then started making kissing noises while Zoey glared at her.

"I might consider leaving you behind," Jamie stated with a smirk as he walked past Maria. The black haired girl giggled then followed after Jamie.

"See, now every time I make fun of you and Zoey you get mad, but when Maria does it you make jokes," Alan stated.

"You're not as cute as she is," Jamie replied. "Plus Maria isn't old enough for me to threaten."

"Can we hurry it up," Doc called. "I'd like to get to the vehicle and-," A crashing sound was heard as something broke through the entrance of the store.

Doc and Zoey screamed with shock then ran from whatever it was that smashed through the wall. Jamie grabbed Maria then dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the flying object. Alan took one step to the side and watched as the object crashed through the electronics section and stopped against the back wall. Alan let out a low whistle, then turned to the entrance, dust still looming about in the air. The survivors looked back then saw their military vehicle lean forward and crash on the floor.

"What the hell," Alan shouted once he realized what the unidentified flying object was. "Oh I am so gonna kill whatever Tank did this!"

The survivors turned to the destroyed entrance and waited for a Tank to rampage through the dust. Nothing came after several seconds. The survivors looked to each other with confusion and then back towards the entrance. A strange, low growl came from the smoke, followed by heavy footsteps. The survivors all raised their weapons, ready to fight…

**Cliffhanger yet again! I'm just stopping here for a very good reason to tell you all something that may or may not ruin this fan-fiction. I feel I'm taking a huge risk, so I just wanted to give you all some time to process before I spring it on you all. I'm planning on adding boss infected, like Resident Evil style monsters to spice things up. Nothing massively huge, just like Tyrant type monsters. I know it's a risk, but I think fighting the same zombies and special infected over and over gets boring. So…leave reviews and let me know what you all think about it.**


	4. Lasher

Alan- machete  
Doc- AK-47  
Jamie- magnum, katana  
Maria- baseball bat  
Zoey- dual pistols

* * *

The survivors looked on with shock as a creature, unlike anything they had seen before stepped out of the dust. The creature looked nearly eight feet tall, a boil covering its left eye, and strange tentacles coming out of various parts of its upper body, just like the recent mutations of a Smoker. The creature was also buffer than Alan, but not quite as buff as a Tank. Two long, pink muscles that were about as thick as a human arm came from the palms of the creature's hands and dragged on the floor behind it.

"Alright, that's new," Alan stated. "But how the hell did that thing THROW our damn vehicle!"

The creature threw its head back and let out a strange roar before lashing out one of the hand tentacles in its hands. In the blink of an eye, the tentacle struck Alan in the chest, throwing him back with enough force to knock the survivor through a movie rack and into a brick wall. The remaining, conscious survivors looked with shock before turning back to the creature that retracting its tentacle back.

"Holy shit," Doc muttered with shock. The creature looked to its right then lashed its tentacle out again. The tentacle wrapped around a lawn mower on display, and the creature flung it forward like a pebble.

"Incoming," Zoey shouted. The four survivors dove to the floor as the mower flew over their heads, smashing next to the military vehicle.

"Split up," Jamie screamed. Zoey and Jamie ran one way while Doc and Maria ran the other way.

The creature lashed both of its hand tentacles upward, wrapping them both around the rafters above. The creature pulled itself up and stood on the metal beams, watching both pairs attempting to flee. With a low growling sound, the creature headed after Jamie and Zoey.

The brunettes rounded a corner then ran for their lives, turning around to see if the creature was chasing them. Suddenly, a tentacle exploded through a rack, right in front of Jamie and Zoey's path. The two turned their heads, just as the new zombie busted through, snarling with rage. Jamie and Zoey both opened fire then ran towards the toy section. The bullets hit the monster, leaving small holes. The creature looked down and the holes started closing up at an alarming rate. It looked back up then bore its disgusting, blood covered, yellow teeth and then chased after the two survivors.

"What do we do," Zoey asked. "What the hell can we do in the damn toy section!"

"Just shoot the damn thing," Jamie replied, his hands shaking slightly. "This thing is a zombie just like everything else, and just like everything else it _will_ die with enough bullets." The survivors heard the creature howl, then looked up, seeing it running along the top of the isles. The creature lashed its tentacles out of its hands. "Watch out!"

Jamie spun around while Zoey hit the floor. The tentacle struck through the solid marble floor, leaving a small hole. Jamie looked for a moment in shock before firing his magnum at the beast. The creature jumped down then landed in front of Jamie. The second he aimed his gun at the creature's face, the zombie's hand seized him by the throat. Jamie gasped for air then started kicking his legs as he was lifted off the ground. The survivor eventually placed the barrel of his gun against the zombie's arm then started firing. The monster howled with pain as holes were punched through its arm before tossing Jamie like a ragdoll into the bike rack all the way at the other end of the isle.

Zoey aimed her pistols, but stopped as she witnessed the creature's arm healing at a rapid rate. The zombie reared its ugly head towards Zoey, snapping her out of her trance as she started firing her pistols. The creature walked forward, tiny holes appearing on its body as it stalked towards Zoey who was backing away slowly. Eventually, Zoey's guns clicked empty.

"Shit," Zoey hissed. The brunette threw one pistol forward, and then the second, both of which bounced off harmlessly of the creature's body. Zoey looked around then grabbed the nearest object. "Suck legos!" Zoey hurled a bucket of legos forward. The creature snarled as it punched through the bucket, sending hundreds of legos flying out on the ground. "Damn it!"

Zoey turned to run. The creature threw its arm out, lashing its tentacle around the brunette's ankle. Zoey tripped then fell on her front, grunting as she hit with a thud. Zoey rolled over as she watched herself being reeled in by the creature. She attempted to claw against the ground or hold onto anything to stop herself, but nothing could help her. That is until Doc came around the corner, screaming like a madman and firing his AK-47 nonstop. The creature growled as it released Zoey and brought both of its arms up to shield itself. Zoey quickly scrambled to her feet then ran towards Doc, both of them running away from the now enraged creature.

Doc hid out with Zoey in the clothing section, kneeling down so they wouldn't be obvious targets. "Doc," Zoey whispered breathlessly. "That thing took out Jamie. It threw him like a…a…something you throw easily!"

"A football?"

"That works. And it can heal itself." Doc blinked with confusion, staring at Zoey as if to confirm. "Jamie put his magnum right on its arm and fired. It had holes the size of quarters, and it started to heal itself."

"Um…was it closing the wound or just magically healing?" Zoey shook her head, unsure as to why that was important, but still tried to remember details.

"I-I think it was closing up the holes," Zoey replied. "Why?"

"Because that means I know how to kill that damn thing," Doc muttered. "I'm guessing its cells are either created at an exponential rate, or its cells work at the same rate."

"English please."

"Just shoot it in the head and it should die." A tentacle flew just above Doc's head, causing the blonde to shoot forward onto the ground with shock. The tentacle swept through the clothing section, knocking down all the racks it hit. "Run!" Zoey and Doc quickly got to their feet then ran for cover.

The creature growled as it threw its arms back, ready to strike again. Doc stopped then fired his AK into the beast. The zombie growled then shielded itself with its arms. Doc smirked as he noticed its hands covering its face specifically, proving his theory. The blonde stopped firing then ran after Zoey while reloading his weapon. The creature snarled then chased after Doc. The two survivors rounded a corner to which the creature followed. Maria, standing on a rack, swung her baseball bat forward. A loud cracking was heard, but not the specific crack she was hoping for. Maria opened her eyes, seeing the creature completely unharmed, and staring at her. The black haired girl looked at her now broken baseball bat then smiled nervously. The creature shrieked with rage, flailing its arms around before swinging forward. Maria released the bat and dove forward, barely missing the tentacle that went under her. The black haired girl landed on her feet and rolled forward, running through a pair of check out isles. The creature turned around, looking at Maria with its only visible eye.

"Hey ugly," a voice called out. The creature turned to Doc who started firing at it. The creature screamed as a few bullets whizzed into its face, but raised its hand to shield itself. "Come on, I need one bullet through that tiny brain of yours!" The creature howled then swung one of its arms upward, lashing out its tentacle. The muscle struck Doc, lifting him off the ground and landing on his back with a heavy thud.

Maria stopped and crouched next to Zoey near a cash register. "Holy crap that thing is scary," Maria whispered, obviously shaken up by the new creature. Zoey shushed the girl, no longer hearing gunfire. The brunette stood up, seeing Doc lying on the ground unmoving.

"Doc," Zoey shouted as she rushed towards the blonde's aid.

"Zoey no," Maria shouted. A tentacle wrapped around Zoey's body, pinning her arms to her side. The brunette was once again being reeled in, despite her feet pushing away from the creature. Maria rushed forward, intent on saving Zoey. "Let go over her you son of a bitch!"

"Maria no!" The creature turned its head then bore its teeth then lashed out its other tentacle. Maria yelped then rolled to the side as the tentacle smashed through the glass of a soda cooler. "RUN!" Maria regretfully ran for cover between the checkout isles. The creature turned its attention back to Zoey, once again pulling her forward. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"Heads up," a voice bellowed.

Zoey and the creature turned their heads, seeing Jamie riding on a bicycle at full speed towards the creature. The zombie turned to lash out its other tentacle. Jamie sprung forward just before the bike crashed, and threw his shoulder into the creature's body, knocking the towering zombie to the ground. The impact caused the tentacle to release Zoey, dropping her to the floor.

Jamie rolled over the zombie, quickly rising to his feet and pulling out his katana. The creature lashed its tentacles out. Jamie swung forward, slicing through both of them. The creature shrieked with pain, but the cuts started to close up. Jamie's eyes widened with shock before he moved forward as the creature rose to its feet. The survivor cried out as he sliced cleanly through the zombie's arm. The creature screamed with pain, but swung its other arm at Jamie. The quick survivor ducked under the strike then swung his sword at the back of the zombie's kneecap, causing the creature to kneel in pain.

"The head," Zoey's voice called out. Jamie turned, seeing Zoey shouting to him. "You have to stab it in the head to kill it!"

Jamie quickly nodded, spinning around before it was too late. The creature was already rising up, but Jamie quickly thrusted the blade through the back of the creature's skull and through its forehead. The zombie gurgled a bit and remained motionless. Jamie quickly pulled his sword out, letting the monster fall to the floor. Just for safety measures, Jamie placed the tip of his sword on the ground then quickly swung sideways, severing the zombie's head with its body. Jamie let out a sigh of relief then punted the creature's head far away from its body. Zoey also let out long sigh while wiping her brow and then approached Jamie.

"Nice job," Zoey replied. She lightly kicked the creature's body then looked to Jamie who was cleaning the blood of his sword. "What should we name this thing?" Jamie whirled his head around with a horrified look on his face. "Don't look at me like that. You know there's never just _one_ Hunter, or just _one_ Boomer in the world. We may encounter more of these things…"

"Good god I hope not," Jamie muttered. Zoey crossed her arms, looking down at the beheaded corpse. "I guess if I had to choose I would say…a Lasher…"

"Eh, that's an okay name I guess," Zoey murmured.

"What would've you called it?" Zoey grew a sly smirk then looked up to Jamie.

"Alan's mom." The two brunettes snickered to each other at the joke.

"Oh you're hilarious," Alan called out. The two turned around, no longer laughing, but a smirk remained on their faces. Alan was limping and holding his side in pain. "What the hell is that thing?"

"Give me a minute," Doc groaned as his body started to move. Doc groaned in pain then lied back down, "Or an hour…"

"Oh suck it up ya wuss," Alan muttered. The bulky survivor stopped in front of the infected then kicked it hard in the side. "What the hell is this damn thing?"

"From what I saw," Doc called out, "ow…I'd say it's closely related to the Smoker."

"You're saying this thing is a Smoker…on steroids?" Doc groaned as he got up, this time rising to his feet and staring at Jamie.

"I said 'related' to the Smoker. It's like how wolves and dogs are related to each other. They're not the same animal, but they're the same species."

"Great, so now these zombies are evolving," Alan exclaimed.

"I told you all the virus mutates randomly! Even human DNA mutates and causes birth defects. Mutations aren't unnatural. In this case though, they're, ow, a pain in the ass…"

"So you're saying that there are now mutated Hunters, Jockeys, Spitters, even Tanks?"

"I didn't say that Jamie. Let the smart doctor who knows about this virus finish talking. The chances of a mutated creature mutating further is unlikely unless there was some extra X factor. The special infected, Boomers, Hunters, Witches, and so on, were normal infected and the virus just mutated on its own to create those slimy, smelly bastards. The chances are that this once normal infected, turn Smoker, turn…whatever this thing is, is highly unlikely. There aren't many things that can involuntarily affect this virus. I don't even believe radiation would mutate them further."

"So you're saying nukes have no affect on these things, just like cockroaches?" Doc, Jamie, Zoey, and even Maria sighed then rubbed their foreheads.

"A nuke would completely eradicate a zombie, but as far as the radiation waves affecting the virus to make it mutate further is zero."

"Basically what he's saying that is if this thing is a mutated Smoker, it's either a long shot of it being natural…or someone or something tampered with the virus, right Doc?" The blonde nodded to Zoey then looked back down at the creature.

"Or the virus is just getting stronger on its own," Doc whispered. "This thing did something we haven't seen any other zombie do: regenerate. Regeneration that quickly is only possible through the cells multiplying at an alarming rate. So either it's a new strain of virus, or the virus is getting a lot stronger."

"By new strain," Zoey began, "you mean…"

"If it's new it could be the G-virus to the T-virus," Doc stated.

"Oh snap," the brunette muttered.

"We are gonna need bigger guns," Jamie said.

"Why'd you waste that RPG," Maria shouted to Alan.

"Hey, you're the one who told me to use it," Alan replied quickly. "And now we're out a vehicle so this trip was for nothing besides getting our asses whupped!"

"You might get a second ass whooping if you don't stop screaming," Zoey hissed. "There might be more of those Lasher things out there!"

"Oh god more," Alan exclaimed. "Can't I just fight a Tank? Remember when things were so simple, just fighting normal zombies and the occasional Tank and other special infected! Now we got these new crazy freaks chasing after us with wild tentacles that can throw a heavy ass military vehicle! We're done! Game over man! Game over!" Zoey looked to Jamie, Jamie looked to Doc, Doc looked to Zoey, and Maria looked to Jamie.

"Are you done," Jamie asked. Alan let out a heavy sigh then turned around.

"Yeah I'm good. Let's go kick some zombie ass!" Alan pulled out his machete then ran towards the parking lot. The other four shrugged to each other then followed after the bulky survivor.


	5. Men

Alan- machete  
Doc- AK-47  
Jamie- katana, combat knife  
Maria- CDs  
Zoey- N/A

* * *

The survivors walked side-by-side, down the empty and open road before them. The Wal-Mart where they just encountered a new type of infected was less than a mile behind them. Maria was going through the CDs which were now just about worthless without a vehicle. Doc threw a fit about how there were no available vehicles in a Wal-Mart parking lot, which Zoey joked about saying; 'maybe the zombies didn't want to walk.' After that, nobody felt like talking much, due to the fact they just got their asses kicked. Alan whistled to himself from sheer boredom, twirling his machete around every now and again. Zoey looked over at Jamie, noticing that he was walking in an unusual way. The young woman watched Jamie who, after a minute or two, looked up and noticed her.

"Can I help you," Jamie finally asked.

"Are you okay," Zoey questioned. Alan turned his head, walking next to Doc and Maria.

"I'm fine, why?" Zoey narrowed her eyes on Jamie. Now Doc turned his head, looking directly at Jamie. The boy had a history of downplaying injuries. "Why is everyone staring at me?"

"How're your shoulders," Doc asked.

"Fine, stop interrogating me."

"Put your hands above your head," Doc ordered as he stopped and faced Jamie.

"Officer I swear to drunk I'm not god." Alan and Maria snickered while Doc and Zoey simply glared at him. Jamie rolled his eyes then raised his hands up. The brunette's eyes widened as pain surged through his shoulders, causing him to drop his arms and cry out with pain. Doc quickly moved next to Jamie, placing a hand on his back. Doc pressed his hand down, causing Jamie to yelped and spin out of Doc's grip. "What the hell was that for?"

"Shirt off now," Zoey snapped. Jamie once again rolled his eyes then pulled his shirt above his head.

"Good god Jamie," Doc exclaimed. "You officially screwed up your shoulder, _again_."

"How the hell did that happen?"

"Well ramming that huge Lasher thing while riding a bicycle would probably do the trick," Zoey muttered.

"That and our first run-in with a Charger screwed them up to begin with. That was less than two weeks ago Jamie, your shoulders need more time to heal before you smash them into giant ten foot tall zombies."

"It was eight feet," Alan corrected. Doc shot a venomous glare at Alan, who looked the other way, whistling innocently.

"I'm fine," Jamie said, rolling his eyes. "You guys are just—YEOW!" Doc was pressing on a part of Jamie's shoulder.

"Idiot," Zoey muttered, walking next to Doc. "Why do guys always have to act so mocho?"

"Usually to impress somebody," Doc whispered to himself. Zoey turned her head to the blonde. Doc looked up, then cleared his throat. "Not that I think he's trying to impress anyone in particular."

"I think that," Maria shouted, raising her hand up.

"Seriously though Jamie, you've got to stop this crap where you throw yourself in harm's way. Literally, otherwise it actually will kill you."

"Fine, I won't save your life next time you're in trouble."

"That goes for me too," Zoey said, looking up at Jamie's face.

"Well then I guess I won't be doing stupid stuff anytime soon then." Doc's face looked confused for a moment before he looked up at Zoey, who was now extremely angry. Alan whistled lowly, staring at Zoey with wide eyes. Maria smacked her palm to her forehead and shook her head. Jamie looked at Zoey, confused by her angry expression. "What? It was a joke." Zoey turned her nose upward then walked past Alan and Maria. "Is she mad?"

"No idiot, she's happy," Maria replied sarcastically. "Don't you realize what you just said?" Jamie shook his head. "You just basically said that Zoey is defenseless!"

"How did I say that?"

"You said, 'I guess I won't be doing stupid stuff anytime soon.'"

"You know…that sounded a lot better in my head…"

"I don't blame her for being mad at you. First you reject her, and now you insult her!"

"What the—reject her? What the hell do you mean by that?"

"She told you how she felt didn't she?" Alan and Doc both turned to Jamie, who was now blushing and looking to the side with his eyes.

"Well…yeah, but how can two people be dating during the zombie apocalypse? That doesn't make sense!"

"UGH!" Maria threw her head back, screamed at the sky then glared at Jamie. "Men!" The black haired girl spun around then followed after Zoey.

"Is this just a really bad dream or something," Jamie asked.

"I don't know," Alan replied. The bulky survivor turned to Jamie, "But I'm glad I'm not you right now."

"Thanks man." Alan rolled his eyes then turned and followed the two girls. Doc handed Jamie a couple of pills.

"These should be fine until we get some better medical equipment to help you. And you're an idiot." Doc walked forward, leaving Jamie dumbfounded. The brunette sighed and shook his head before popping the pills and following after his friends.

The walk down the road was now filled with more silence than before. Jamie was trailing at the end of the group, trying to think of the right words to say when apologizing to Zoey. Doc and Alan were in the middle of the group, looking from the still angry Zoey and back to the nervous Jamie. At the head of the pack were Zoey and Maria, who were walking side by side, not saying a word to each other. Maria knew why Zoey was mad, and completely respected her reasons, but it was just so boring being quiet. Maria spent the better part of a month not saying a word to anyone, and damn it if she spends another month being mute.

"You wanna talk about it," the black haired girl asked after a moment.

"No."

"Well I do, so start talking." Zoey sighed then looked back over her shoulder. "Come on, I agree Jamie is dumb for what he said, but you know he didn't mean it."

"Whatever," Zoey replied, keeping her gaze forward. Maria groaned then threw her head back with frustration.

"Just tell me about it, let it all out."

"There's nothing to let out," Zoey murmured. "He's right. Most of the stupid things he does to save me are usually my fault."

"He only does that because he has a crush on you," Maria exclaimed. "It's not _really_ your fault for being cute, charming, and really funny." Zoey cracked a smirk, despite her best attempts otherwise. "I mean seriously, how could Jamie _not_ like you? Honestly!"

"That still doesn't excuse him of what he said."

"I know it doesn't, but you can't stay mad at him forever. Eventually you're going to have to talk to him ya know." Zoey sighed then glanced over at Maria.

"I know…and I will it's just that-," Suddenly, a high pitch squealing sound was heard, causing the two girls to whirl around. Alan was pointing towards something, bouncing up and down with excitement. "What in the world is he pointing to?"

"And since when does Alan squeal," Maria questioned. The girls looked over, seeing a giant, heavily armored SWAT van lying in the middle of the road.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh," the girls said. Alan quickly ran over to the van then started inspecting every inch of it.

"Dudes, this is, this is, THIS IS—I don't know, but it's amazing!"

"It's a SWAT van," Doc replied, his tone dead of any emotion.

"Not anymore! This is the A-Team van!"

"The A-Team," Zoey repeated. "They remade the A-Team, so we can't remake it."

"What did the A ever stand for," Maria asked.

"Well in the new one it stood for 'Alpha,' ya know, like Alpha squad. I don't think it was ever officially stated in the actual TV show." Maria and Zoey looked up at Doc then to each other. "Yes, I'm the oldest one in the group, so shut up."

"I GOT IT!"

"Oh lord," Doc groaned, his shoulders slumping. He knew Alan had thought of something ridiculous.

"The Z-Team! Instead of A, it's Z! THEY'RE EXACT OPPOSITES!"

"Yeah," Zoey replied with false enthusiasm. "That way we won't get sued for copyright laws!"

"Exactly!"

"Except there's four members of the A-Team, and we have five," Doc stated.

"Even more reason why we can't get sued!" Alan quickly opened the door and casually threw out the driver's dead body. The other survivors moaned with disgust, Zoey covering Maria's eyes.

"Come on man, at least give us some warning," Doc snapped.

"Dude this is so sweet! I gotta have this thing!"

"Does it have gas in it? Because this one time in the A-Team, B.A. chose a truck that was almost out of gas, just because he liked the paint job. I'm not going to be killed just because you want a giant, heavily armored SWAT vehicle."

"It has gas," Alan replied with a musical tone. "Woo-hoo, it has gas, just like me after Mexican food!" The bulky survivor jumped out of the door then threw his arms out with the widest grin in the world. "Yeah!" Doc rolled his eyes while Maria and Zoey simply giggled. The doctor turned to say something to Jamie, but stayed silent. Doc looked, and even turned around in a circle, but found no sign of Jamie.

"Uh…guys," Doc began, "Where did our fearless leader go?" The rest of the survivors just noticed that Jamie was gone, then frantically started scanning the area.

"There he is," Maria called out, pointing down the road. The survivors looked down the road, and saw Jamie sprinting at full speed towards them. "And judging from how quickly he's running…" A Witch barreled around a corner, arms outstretched as she pursued the survivor. "Yep, he's bringing company…"

"Does anyone have any type of gun," Zoey asked. Maria and Alan turned to Doc who had an AK on his back.

"Yeah, I suppose now is a bad time to mention that I only have less than a full clip left…"

"Damn it," Alan exclaimed before rushing towards Jamie.

"Stay with Maria," Zoey told Doc, "and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Doc nodded as Zoey ran off.

"Oh come on, I'm immune now," Maria shouted after Zoey.

"That Witch still has claws that'll tear you in half," Doc replied. The young girl opened her mouth but then sighed with defeat before sitting down, arms and legs crossed. Doc rolled his eyes at the pouting girl then leaned against the back of the van.

Jamie had no idea what to do. He thought about turning around and trying to face the Witch with his katana in hand, but that was still a risk he didn't want to take. His trusty combat knife was already stuck in the Witch's stomach, and that didn't seem to slow her down one bit. Luckily, he saw Alan and Zoey running forward to his aid. Whether or not Zoey was just coming to finish the job was beyond him however. Jamie jumped forward, landing on the hood of a car before running over the top and jumping off the back. As he landed, Jamie rolled forward and turned just as the Witch came around the corner of the vehicle. Jamie once again rolled, narrowly avoiding the zombie's strike with her razor sharp claws. The survivor scrambled forward, hastily pulling out his katana and turning to face the Witch, who quickly tackled him to the ground. The sword clattered out of Jamie's reach as he landed on his side. The Witch was already back on her feet, claws raised and ready to tear Jamie apart.

"Get away from him you bitch," Zoey shouted as she charged forward and dove into the Witch. The two flew back and hit the ground next to the car Jamie ran over earlier. Alan stopped next to Jamie, both watching with awe as Zoey quickly got on top of the Witch's back, grabbed two fistfuls of hair, then started bashing the zombie's face against the pavement.

The Witch shrieked with pain with every smack in the face, her arms flailing about wildly to try attack Zoey. The Witch suddenly threw her weight to one side, throwing Zoey off her back. Jamie quickly ran forward to help. The Witch whirled her head around, seeing Jamie rushing towards her. The Witch threw one of its arms forward, knocking Jamie's right leg out from under him. The survivor flew forward then slammed into the pavement hard. Alan moved forward just as the Witch rose to its feet. Suddenly, a screaming, red faced Zoey speared the Witch into the side of the car with a dull thud. With adrenaline surging through her body, Zoey stepped back then threw the car door open, smacking the Witch in the face. The zombie stumbled back against the vehicle. Zoey threw the door open again with all her might, breaking the door of its hinges to smash the Witch's face again. The frail zombie groaned weakly then slumped on its side, glaring angrily at Zoey with her glowing eyes. Zoey walked up then started to stomp on the zombie's face over and over and over again until the Witch stopped moving.

A few strands of Zoey's hair hung loosely in front of her face. Zoey panted heavily, some sweat trickling down her face before she brushed a few strands aside then looked up at Alan who was gapping with shock. "What," Zoey asked casually. Alan immediately dropped his machete then literally bowed before Zoey.

"Oh great zombie slayer," Alan exclaimed.

"And don't you forget it." Zoey took in a deep breath before looking down at the lifeless Witch. "Thanks for the help by the way."

"Hell I would've taken a nap if I knew you were gonna go Rambo on that poor Witch." A groan caused Zoey and Alan to turn around. Jamie was lying on the ground, holding his shin with blood oozing from between his fingers. "Oh shit!"

"Yeah, don't worry, you can continue groveling while I bleed to death." Zoey quickly moved next to Jamie and knelt down.

"Let me see it," Zoey said. Jamie slowly removed his hands from the wound, showing a clean slice through his jeans and into his leg. "Oh god…Alan, call for Doc!" Alan moved to stand up, but froze once he heard the familiar growl of a Hunter.

"Oh shit…" Alan turned his head, seeing a Hunter leaping towards him. Suddenly, the SWAT van from before came out of nowhere and rammed into the side of the Hunter. The zombie flew to the side and rolled against the road in a bloody heap. Alan once again stared in awe as he looked to the driver's side of the van, seeing Maria leaning out of the window.

"I pity the fool," Maria shouted with the deepest voice she could put on.

"You did NOT just steal my van and my character!" Doc jumped out of t he back of the van then ran over to Jamie and Zoey.

"Who'd you save this time," Doc asked.

"Jamie," Zoey answered. Doc looked at the young woman, then the injured young man.

"Sweet." Doc rolled up Jamie's pant leg then pressed his thumbs around the wound. Jamie winced and blood came flowing out. "Shit, we need to stop the blood flow."

"Here," Zoey replied, quickly taking off her jacket. Doc took the garment then wrapped it around Jamie's leg just above the wound and tied it tightly. Jamie once again winced in pain. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"Well, we need medical equipment to close up the wound and cover his leg up, and since we don't have any of that…I would say it could get worse than this."

"Well let's get moving before it does," Maria shouted. Alan walked up to the driver's door then opened it, pushing Maria to the side. "Hey, what the-,"

"I'm driving this one damn it!"

"Zoey, help me." Doc and Zoey put one of Jamie's arms around their shoulders then lifted him up, heading towards the back of the van. They moved in the back and Doc shut the doors.

The Hunter Maria rammed into earlier began to move slightly, only for Alan to run over its body completely before turning the van around and flooring it down the open road. Zoey knelt next to Jamie and placed a hand on his forehead. Jamie bit his lower lip then cracked a smile. Zoey narrowed her eyes at him before Jamie looked her in the eye.

"I want the record to show that I wasn't trying to save you that time." Zoey smiled then flicked Jamie on the side of the head.

"I saved you without getting hurt. That must mean you just suck at saving people." Jamie chuckled then looked down at his bleeding wound. Zoey followed his gaze, cringing slightly at the blood soaked leg. "Ya think we should take your shoe off?"

"You mean that shoe that's stained and filled with blood? Yeah probably." Zoey nodded then scooted down and untied Jamie's shoelaces, pulled off his shoe and his bloody sock.

"Good god, you need to cut your toenails," Zoey snapped.

"Yeah, that's been at the top of my 'to-do-list' lately." Zoey rolled her eyes then scooted back up to Jamie.

"Plus your foot stinks too," Zoey added. Jamie rolled his eyes.

"Kiss him," Maria whispered from the front seat. Zoey and Jamie's eyes moved upward towards the black haired girl who snapped her attention up at Doc. "Hey, what the hell are you doing back there anyway? Jamie is bleeding like crazy and you're just browsing for…whatever old people browse for."

"I'm not even forty and you're saying I'm old," Doc snapped, turning his head around. "And for your information little miss know-it-all, I was looking for medical supplies! But apparently even the SWAT teams don't have decent enough shit to help a torn open leg!"

"Hey don't blame SWAT for your short comings," Alan shouted. "They gave us this van damn it, so do _not_ blame them for anything!"

"Actually we have the zombies to thank for that, because if they didn't kill the SWAT team, then we wouldn't have this van."

"Unless the SWAT team wasn't actually dead," Maria stated, "Ya know, maybe they just went out to look for survivors or something." The older survivors all looked at each other with panic stricken across their faces.

"Go, go, go," Doc screamed as Alan floored the gas and sped off down the road.

"WHOA!" Maria was nearly thrown into the back of the van, but quickly put her rear back into the seat. "What the—you paranoid freaks! You really think that there's going to be a living SWAT team who will be mad enough to shoot us!"

"You never know," Alan shouted as he took a hard right.

"Hey, careful, we have a patient back here," Zoey snapped. "If you end up making him worse I'm driving."

"Right," Alan scoffed. "A female driver."

"Hey, as I recall I've kicked more ass with a vehicle than you have with any blunt object," Maria hissed.

"Burned," Doc exclaimed loudly. Alan scowled, glaring at the grinning Maria before focusing his eyes back on the road.

**

* * *

So, originally I was planning on making this chapter the Z-Team, but I instead chose 'Men' because it's a classical portrayal or the stereotypical male. Makes comments towards a woman that he didn't mean to be offensive, but got his ass in trouble anyway, Alan freaking out over the van like a boy with his toys, and Doc snapping angrily at Maria for making the comment that he's old…which he kinda is. So anywho, just thought I'd justify the title in case anyone was wondering. Anywho, I'm done with this chapter now, so read and review please and thank you =)**


	6. Asylum

Alan- machete  
Doc- AK-47  
Jamie- katana, combat knife  
Maria- CDs  
Zoey- N/A

* * *

Alan groaned as he pressed the next button, once again coming up with a song that he didn't like. "Damn it, did we get any good CDs?"

"Hey, Ten Thousand Fists is just fine," Jamie shouted. "It's not Disturbed's fault that you've listen to every song ten thousand times."

"And it doesn't help that you bitch about the CD you picked out," Doc added. Alan sighed and shook his head. "You do know that you're supposed to pull over at the next place that could very possibly have medical stuff right? For Jamie's sake?"

"Oh…yeah I knew that," Alan exclaimed. "What, you think I'm stupid or something?" All expectant eyes shot in Alan's direction. "Alright, shut up, I forgot…"

"Thanks man," Jamie called out.

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

"That's it, just for that we're listening to Hannah Montana!"

"Wha—NO!" Maria took the Disturbed CD out of the player then inserted a Hannah Montana. "God damn it…"

"That's the punishment," Zoey said with a smirk. The brunette turned to Jamie who was lying still on the ground. "Are you still okay?"

"Yeah," Jamie replied. "Doc's got me high on pain pills."

"Doc," Zoey snapped angrily.

"It's better than him whining about the pain all day," the blonde replied casually. "Besides, he wouldn't HAVE to be high if someone remembered to pull over for medical supplies!"

"Dude, I haven't seen a hospital for the past eight days! Unless you have some kind of psychic connection with hospitals then shut up!"

"Alan, you do know hospitals aren't the only places with medical equipment right," Doc questioned.

"…Like where exactly?"

"Good god you're so stupid," Doc sighed out. "I'm driving damn it! Move!"

"Screw you, this is my van!"

"I said move!"

"Children," Maria shouted. "I'll move, Doc you tell Alan where to pull over!" The black haired girl quickly jumped out of her seat and moved into the back. Doc watched the girl then glared over at Alan before jumping in the front seat. "Those two…I swear."

"Is it weird that the youngest member of the team is also the most mature," Zoey asked Jamie.

"Um…normally, yeah that'd be really weird. But all things considered it could be worse. We could be stuck with that kid who tried to rape you." Zoey whirled her head around, glaring daggers at the giggling Jamie.

"Laugh it up fuzz ball." Zoey poked Jamie's forehead lightly with a warm smile on her face. Maria groaned then rolled her head around, causing both brunettes to look at her.

"You two are killing me," Maria exclaimed. "What with your constant flirting and showing affection to each other! It makes me sick!"

"We could make out right now," Zoey suggested. "Would that make you sick?"

"Okay, if you did that, I'd be the one screaming 'GET SOME!' Work on your threats honey." Zoey chuckled, shaking her head at the younger girl.

"Now wait a minute, I might like said make out session," Jamie stated. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Sorry, I prefer guys who can stand on both feet," Zoey replied tauntingly.

"Oh that's cold." A sly smirk spread across Jamie's lips as he looked forward. "Hey Doc, you like underage individuals right?"

"GOD DAMN IT!" Doc smacked the dashboard and whirled around, "Who came up with this joke? I swear I'll kill em!"

"Who did come up with this prank," Zoey asked.

"Probably Alan," Jamie replied. "Or Maria…"

"I didn't say a word to anyone for the first three weeks I've known you monkeys. How could I have started mocking Doc before I even started talking?"

"She's got a point," Alan replied. "Besides, who's to say Jamie didn't start it?"

"Well whoever started it, let's just stop alright," Doc shouted. "I'm sick of it."

"Alright," Jamie murmured. "Besides, you're eighteen aren't you Zoey?"

"Seriously, I'm going to amputate that leg if you don't shut up," Doc threatened. Jamie motioned his fingers across his lips. Doc turned around and looked out the window. "Alan, right there!" The bulky survivor slowed the vehicle down and stopped. Everyone followed Doc's gaze, seeing a nearby, small convenience store that was off the exit ramp, which was blocked by vacant cars. "We just need to run in, grab some medical crap and hightail it out of there. Simple right?"

"I get the feeling I'm not coming am I," Jamie asked.

"Not unless you can walk on your hands," Doc replied, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Alright, just leave Maria with a shotgun and I'll feel comfortable."

"Ooh, can I, can I can I please?"

"No," was Alan, Doc, and Zoey's simultaneous response.

"You guys SUCK," Maria and Jamie shot back.

A few moments later, Doc, Alan, and Zoey had gotten ready to move to the convenience store off the exit ramp on the highway with what few weapons they had left. Jamie had given Zoey his katana since she was the only one going without a weapon. "So just to clarify," Maria began as she leaned out of the back of the van, "if a horde shows up, what are Jamie and I supposed to do?"

"You're a smart little girl," Alan replied as he twirled his machete around. "I'm sure you'll figure something out."

"Alright, but if you're not back in ten minutes I'm impounding this vehicle." With that, Maria shut the double doors. Alan started laughing as he turned to Doc and Zoey.

"She's joking right," he asked the two. Doc and Zoey looked at each other before turning around and walking towards the exit ramp. "Hey, seriously, she's joking right!"

Doc and Zoey posted up against either side of the door to the store. The windows had been boarded up, preventing the survivors from seeing what was inside. Alan stood across from the door, cracking his neck in preparation. Zoey and Doc nodded to Alan. The bulky survivor rushed forward then booted the door with all his might. The door didn't budge, causing all of Alan's force to be thrown back at him. Alan fell on his back and groaned. Doc rolled his eyes while Zoey giggled. Doc used the butt of his gun to bash the window of the door open. He reached between a pair of boards, undid the lock and opened the door.

The blonde quickly moved into the room, his flashlight on and his gun sweeping across the room for any movement. "All clear."

"Thanks sergeant," Alan said loudly as he strolled into the building casually. Doc's arms fell a bit as he glared at the back of Alan's head.

"Yeah, poke fun at me: the only guy with the gun, and the guy who opened the door that you couldn't even kick down."

"Whatever, just get the medical crap and let's get out of here," Alan replied. "I'm not a fan of any type of convenience store after that…what was that thing in Wal-Mart?"

"Lasher," Zoey replied.

"Yeah, that thing."

"You're just mad because you got smoked by that thing before you even knew what it was," Doc stated.

"That was pretty funny though," Zoey admitted. "Just out of nowhere: BOOM! Headshot."

"Except the bastard got me across the chest," Alan said as he rubbed his chest. "That thing seriously has some crazy tentacles." There was a loud, audible cry of multiple voices. Alan and Zoey snapped their heads towards the door while Doc jerked his head up from behind the counter.

"HORDE," Zoey and Alan shouted.

"Barricade the door!" Doc quickly hopped over the counter while Zoey and Alan were pushing whatever was in the room in front of the doors. "Don't forget the windows!" Zoey shook her head around wildly before she finally noticed a bookshelf. She ran behind it and started to push it in front of the window. Once she was done, she stepped back and looked at the bookshelf curiously.

"Huh…now all we need is a Hispanic guy and this'd almost be complete."

"ZOEY," the two men shouted.

"Right, bad time for jokes!"

"Tell me there are more guns somewhere," Alan pleaded fearfully.

"It's a convenience store Alan," Zoey snapped, equally as frightened.

"Well guns would be really convenient right now!"

"Guys, over here," Doc shouted. Alan and Zoey turned around, seeing Doc pulling a heavy metal lid off the ground. "We have a way to get out of here!"

"Why always the sewers," Zoey groaned.

"It's either that or deal with an angry mob of zombies, take your pick!"

"God damn it, this is shit," Alan whined as he walked towards Doc. "Literally!" With that said the bulky survivor jumped down in the sewers. Zoey groaned then quickly ran and jumped down. Doc climbed down the ladder and closed the manhole up before jumping down with a wet, sickening splat. "God damn it! I hate the sewers!"

"So shut up and run," Zoey snapped. The three followed Doc, being the only one with a flashlight. "How far do we run?"

"Who cares, we just need to get away from that horde," Doc replied. "How the hell did a group of zombies get alerted anyway? Alan was with us the whole time!"

"Yeah, what gives?"

"Who cares, let's just keep moving," Doc urged.

The SWAT van slid around a corner on two wheels before screeching down the road with a horde of infected chasing behind it. Maria sat behind the wheel while Jamie was in the passenger's seat, bouncing around as Maria swerved and weaved between obstacles.

"Good lord," Jamie screamed. "I'm injured for god's sake! Slow down a bit!"

"Sure, I'll pull over and let those zombies go rampant on our fleshy asses!"

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Maria snapped her head towards Jamie then turned the vehicle sharply to the left, causing Jamie to smash into the door. "OW! Watch it!"

"I'm twelve years old, I've been walking through hell with you, Alan, Doc, Zoey, and a crap ton of other people, I've seen gruesome, gory acts of violence that video game makers can only DREAM about, and you want to tell me to watch my mouth? REALLY! Really Jamie?"

"Well just because the world is ending doesn't mean I should allow twelve year old girls to say whatever the hell they want can I? That would make me an irresponsible adult."

"Oh bite me," Maria shouted before barreling around another street corner. "We need to think of a way to regroup with the others after we ditch these zombie clowns!"

"I see a good way to do so," Jamie replied. Maria looked over at the older boy who was pointing to a gun store ahead.

"Can you walk?"

"No."

"How fast can you hobble?"

"We're about to find out."

Maria turned the van on the sidewalk then started to ride it forward. She stopped, put the vehicle in park, and turned the keys off. Jamie opened the door and jumped on one foot, then started hobbling over towards the gun store. Maria sprinted around the van and made it to the door before Jamie. She swung the door open and let Jamie go in first. After he was in, Maria stepped inside and slammed the door shut in the faces of many angry zombies. Jamie grabbed a pair of SMGs before hopping up on the counter to sit down. Maria ran up the nearest glass case and busted it out before grabbing two shotguns.

"Don't you think that's a bit much even for you," Jamie questioned.

"I know," Maria replied before handing on shotgun to Jamie. "This one is for you." Jamie took the weapon then sat it by his hip while Maria continued to search the store while the zombies outside tried to bash their way inside.

Doc swept his light across the dark halls back and forth in case of any movement. "Doc," Alan groaned. "I'm about to puke. Just find a ladder and I'll take my chances!"

"I agree," Zoey said, raising her hand in the air while her other hand was placed on her stomach. Doc sighed then moved his light towards a ladder only a few feet away.

"There, we'll hopefully be home free from there."

"Unless there's a Witch on the manhole," Zoey joked. Alan and Doc stopped then glared at the young brunette. "What, it was a joke."

"Just for that you're going up first," Doc said.

"Oh come on." Alan and Doc stepped to the side, allowing Zoey to pass between them. "Jerks," she muttered under her breath.

Jamie inhaled deeply as the zombies began to beat their way through the door. The brunette clutched his two SMGs tightly while Maria crouched behind the counter, a bandana wrapped around her head, a belt of ammunition draped around her shoulders, a shotgun on her back, and a combat rifle in hand.

"Wait, why aren't I crouching behind cover," Jamie asked no one in particular. The brunette spun around on his rear then inched behind the counter, crouching next to Maria. "Much better."

"Unless a Tank shows up," Maria joked. Jamie turned slowly and glared angrily at the young black haired girl. "Or not…"

"If a Tank does show up: I'm throwing you at it and then hobbling away."

"Best of luck to you then." Maria extended her hand, which Jamie shook before they both looked back at the door which soon exploded in a flurry of splinters.

Jamie squeezed the triggers of both guns, unleashing a volley of bullets as zombies flooded through the narrow doorway. Maria had her weapon aimed, but didn't fire a single shot. As Jamie continued to mow down zombies one of his guns clicked empty, followed by the other one. Jamie put the weapons down on the ground to reload, prompting Maria to start firing her combat rifle.

The kick was much more than she expected, by given the life-or-death situation, Maria kept her focus and continued blasting zombies. Jamie had one weapon reloaded, and shortly after, he had the second. The brunette came back up over the counter, both weapons aimed steadily at the doorway until Maria ran out of bullets. The bodies were beginning to pile up in and out of the doorway, and a few bodies were even lying inside the store. Jamie started firing his weapons as Maria started to reload. As she discarded the empty clip, Maria rubbed her throbbing shoulder for a moment before slamming in a fresh clip.

"This is going well so far," Jamie shouted over the gun fire.

"So far," Maria whispered. Suddenly, a stream of acid flew over the heads of many zombies, heading towards Maria and Jamie.

"SHIT," both survivors shouted before diving to the side. Some of the acid rained down on a few zombies, causing them to writhe with pain before dying, but the majority of the acid was eating away at the ground between Maria and Jamie.

"Double shit," Maria shouted. Jamie and Maria both popped over the counter and started to fire at the zombies that now flooded into the store with that brief opportunity a Spitter granted them.

Zoey pushed the manhole out of the way and looked around the streets. She looked down at Alan and Doc below her, "All clear."

"Zoey, why can't you wear a skirt or something?" Zoey stopped and looked down, kicking Alan's face. "OW! Awe, there was poop on that one!" Zoey ignored the comment then climbed onto the streets, looking around carefully to make sure that there were no incoming zombies. Alan climbed up next, spitting the nasty taste out of his mouth while wiping his face. Doc came up next and covered up the manhole.

"Now what do we do," Zoey asked quietly. "Maria and Jamie are out there somewhere in this city…"

"Well, we can either go out and look for them ourselves or stay put and hope they find us with the van," Doc replied.

"We need a place to set up shop first," Alan said. "A safe house, or even a makeshift one. Plus we need weapons and supplies." Doc looked around the street, seeing all the surrounding buildings.

"Well, hopefully this city block has a bit of everything. We'll search the block for anything useful and look for a safe house in the meantime."

"So what, we're splitting up," Alan asked.

"For now, but don't wander off too far."

"Sure thing dad," Zoey replied jokingly. With that said, the three survivors split up and started to search the block.

"Reloading," Maria shouted as she ducked behind cover. Jamie fired at the zombies, mainly going towards her at the moment. Since the Spitter ruined their plan of driving the zombies through a small kill zone, Jamie and Maria had been fighting desperately to kill everything. Maria popped out of cover then started blasting holes through zombies with her combat rifle.

"Reloading," Jamie called out. The brunette looked down, seeing only one clip left. Jamie scowled, throwing one SMG forward and smashing a zombie's skull with it before slamming a fresh clip into his gun. "Last mag!"

Jamie popped up, only to be taken down by two zombies that dove over the counter. "Jamie," Maria shrieked. She wanted to help, but there were still a few dozen zombies that needed her undivided attention.

Jamie growled as he punched one zombie in the face then reached for his gun. The second zombie held down Jamie's arm then started punching the survivor in the chest. The first zombie recovered from the earlier blow then joined his companion in beating the survivor. Jamie reached for his combat knife, sheathed in a makeshift holster he made earlier to put on his hip, and then stabbed the first zombie in the hip. The infected made no sign of pain, but stopped beating Jamie to look at its wound. Jamie then pulled the knife out and screamed as he rolled the two zombies off of him. The first zombie rolled around then rushed forward on all fours. Jamie stabbed the zombie through the forehead quickly and yanked the knife out as the second one charged in the same manner as the first. Jamie cried out as he stabbed the knife through the side of the zombie's head, pinning it against the back wall.

Jamie quickly grabbed his SMG then popped over the counter and started firing at the overwhelming amount of zombies that Maria had somehow held off all on her own. Jamie soon ran out of ammunition then hurled the empty gun into the horde before pulling out a pump shotgun. The survivor started blasting through zombies as Maria loaded her last clip into the combat rifle. The horde seemed to be dying down, much to the relief of the survivors. Maria fired her last three round burst into the last zombie who groaned as it fell over on its back.

Jamie and Maria were panting and sweating from all the yelling and the fear coursing through their veins. Neither had any idea how they just survived that, but they didn't care. Jamie looked over at Maria, smiling through his sweat and bruises from the two zombies beating on him. Maria looked back, slightly worried by Jamie's new injuries, but smiled back nonetheless.

"Good job," Jamie finally said. Maria extended her arm, curling her hand into a fist. Jamie let out a small laugh then bumped his fist against the younger girl's. "So, feel like taking a break?"

"Hell now," Maria sighed out. "I want to go look for the others already!" Jamie laughed before he slumped down against the counter. The brunette saw his knife still imbedded in the head of a zombie. He leaned forward then yanked the blade out, and wiped the blood against the counter before placing it back in the holster. Maria walked up to Jamie and knelt down next to him. She reached up to touch one of Jamie's new bruises, but decided against it. "You think the others are alright?"

"Maria, you're a twelve year old girl, and my leg is fucked up and we just took out like a hundred zombies on our own. I'm pretty sure those three can handle themselves."

"Are you okay," Maria asked.

"I've been worse."

"That's not what I'm asking." Jamie sighed then turned to the younger girl, still having a smile over his face.

"I'll live, don't worry alright? I'm not going to let a beating from a pair of zombies get the best of me." Maria smiled at the reassurance before putting one of Jamie's arms around her shoulders.

"Come on big guy, we gotta get moving." Jamie stood up with a painful groan, but quickly shook it off. "You get the van warmed up and I'll start bringing in guns."

"Alright," Jamie replied with a laugh. The brunette hobbled over towards the exit, but stopped when he saw something on the table in the corner. Jamie hopped over towards the table and lifted up a CD, now covered with blood and dust. He wiped it off, and gapped in awe at what he saw. "No…freaking…way…"

Alan walked towards where he and the others split up, expecting that to be as good a place as any to regroup. The bulky survivor had an automatic shotgun and a pair of pistols he confiscated from an overturned police vehicle, and a hunting rifle with a pump shotgun he got from some redneck's truck. Luckily enough, Alan saw Zoey and Doc in the street with some other supplies.

"What's up," Alan called out. "I got guns, and I don't mean these babies!" Alan flexed his bicep. Doc rolled his eyes while Zoey giggled a bit. "What'd you guys get?"

"Lots of medical goodies," Doc replied, holing up a giant duffel bag. "And Zoey found a place she figures would be a good safe house."

"What makes you think that," Alan asked.

"It had a ton of flares, and an impressive CD and DVD collection," Zoey replied. "Also the windows are barred and the door is like a freaking vault door."

"Why do flares matter," Alan questioned.

"So then maybe Jamie and Maria can find us at night," Doc answered matter-of-factly. "Besides, I already said we were going to go there, so let's go." The walk was basically down the street and around the corner, and up the stairs of a comic book shop.

"The poor bastard who owned this place honestly had a bomb shelter?"

"More like a zombie shelter," Zoey corrected. "Besides, I'm not complaining about it. The poor bastard is probably a Boomer."

"Or with our luck a Tank…" Doc opened the door, ignoring Alan's comment and walked into the room. Zoey and Alan came in as well, the latter closing the door. "How much longer till sunset so we can start setting off flares?"

"A few hours," Doc replied. "I'd guess it's probably two o' clock right now."

"Shit…"

"Don't worry, we got plenty of movies to entertain ourselves until then," Zoey replied cheerfully. "Look: he has all the Star Wars movies."

Alan scoffed, "Who doesn't?"

"Alright, well he has just about every movie by George A. Romero."

"You really haven't had enough of zombies yet," Doc questioned. "Seriously?" Zoey rolled her eyes then turned back to the DVD collection.

"Well then you guys pick something," Zoey replied.

"Gladly," Alan said as he walked forward.

Zoey walked to the other corner of the room, sitting in a bean-bag chair next to the TV. She looked at Doc who was looking out of the window, and then to Alan who was browsing the movie selection. Zoey sighed softly to herself, looking down at her hands. She hoped that Jamie and Maria were okay, wherever they were.

"DUDES!" Zoey was snapped out of her trance and looked over to Alan who was looking by the TV. "He has Gears of War 2, AND a 360! Let's fire that shit up!"

"Why not," Doc replied, half sarcastically.

"I don't think so," Zoey murmured. The two other survivors looked at Zoey, Alan with confusion, Doc with curiosity. "For your own good…"

"For my own good," Alan repeated with a joking tone. "Girl, I will beat you down at this game." Zoey rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm serious, I play that game through on the insane difficulty all the time."

"Ooh, insane," Zoey replied sarcastically. "You don't want to play me at Gears."

"It's on," Alan said with a cocky smirk on his face. Doc smirked then continued staring out the window as Alan got the 360 started up.

"Alright, but I'm the Locust," Zoey replied, grabbing the nearest controller. "And I'm first player."

"Fine, whatever," Alan said as the disc entered the console. "It's one baby!"

They went to the multiplayer section. Alan chose Cole on the COG side and Zoey chose Skorge. Alan smirked as the map started loading. It was five vs. five with the bot difficulty on hardcore as a warm up. On the COG side was Cole, Marcus, Hoffman, and both Carmines. On the Locust side was Skorge, RAAM, Theron Guard, Drone, and Grenadier. The map in choice was Blood Drive.

"You're so going down," Alan repeated with a mocking laugh. Zoey sighed out of boredom. The match started.

Zoey went outside along with the rest of the team. She went down the stairs and to the area with grenades. Alan went outside and directly across the base to grab a magnum. Zoey took cover in the small window in front of the grenades where Hoffman and B. Carmine started firing at her. Alan moved down the stairs, moving towards the frontlines where Marcus and A. Carmine were, fighting RAAM, the Drone, and the Theron Guard. Alan crouched behind cover and started blind firing towards the Drone and Guard. RAAM quickly started to run from one piece of cover to the next. Alan quickly pulled out his revolver then fired a single shot, blowing RAAM's head off.

"WOO," Alan exclaimed happily. Zoey still looked completely disinterested, causing Alan to get annoyed.

A smoke grenade went off in front of Alan and Marcus, blinding them for a few seconds. "That was me," Zoey admitted tauntingly.

Alan huffed then popped out of cover as the Grenadier popped out of cover. Alan shot him a few times with the magnum before blowing his head off as well.

"That was me," Alan replied with a mocking tone. Zoey picked up the Grenadier's revolver. The brunette turned to Alan with a cocky smile.

"Thanks."

"That's cold," Alan replied. "Remind me not to take the gun you want."

Marcus incapacitated the Drone. Alan shot up, only to be shot by the Theron Guard. Alan ducked back behind cover as the Guard ran out of cover to revive the Drone. A. Carmine fired at the Theron Guard, incapping and killing it.

"Only you and the Drone left sweetheart," Alan exclaimed happily. Zoey made no response, keeping her eyes focused on the screen. "Seriously, you can be angry that I'm winning."

"Do you know where Hoffman and Carmine are?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Check it." Zoey pointed to the screen. Alan looked up to the window of their base just as an explosion went off, throwing gore and chunks out. The screen read that Hoffman and B. Carmine were dead. Alan's jaw dropped as he looked at the now smirking Zoey. "I'm not done yet."

Alan grumbled as he focused back on his screen. The other Carmine was incapped, but was quickly revived by Marcus. Alan snickered as he threw a smoke grenade behind the Drone's cover. The explosion threw the Drone out of cover, allowing Alan to rush forward quickly with his chainsaw revving. Alan screamed loudly as he sawed through the Drone, leaving only Zoey.

"Oh I'm gonna enjoy taking you out."

Zoey grabbed an ink grenade then threw it at Carmine and Marcus, incapping the two of them. Alan cursed to himself and quickly revived Carmine, but Marcus already died. Alan walked to the side and picked up a flame thrower before heading up to the base with Carmine. Carmine got to the top of the stairs first and was stuck with a grenade by Zoey who was crouching behind cover. The COG soldier exploded as Zoey dove backwards as Alan started blazing his flamethrower. Zoey ran back to where she killed Hoffman and the other Carmine. Alan smirked then ran forward, stopping a few feet from the entrance. Alan quickly dove out to the side and started firing his flamethrower at empty space. From behind the pillar, the barrel of a shotgun poked out before it blew Alan's head off.

The screen read: 'Locust Victory.' Alan's jaw dropped while Zoey smirked. "Told ya," the brunette replied.

"You just got lucky," Alan replied. "We still got four more rounds to do."

The next three rounds were excruciating. Zoey managed to kill off most, if not, all of the COG single handedly with little to no help. Alan or the other COG bots hadn't even managed to incap her. To add insult to injury, Zoey managed to kill Alan personally each round. The second round Zoey burned him alive with the flamethrower, the second round, stuck with a grenade and blown to bits, and the last round his head was used as a golf ball for her shotgun.

The final round started, and Alan was determined to win…or at least kill Zoey once. Alan moved towards the frontlines as usual, this time with both Carmines. Marcus and Hoffman went to the area with grenades and started firing at the enemies. The Drone was killed in no time, dropping some frag grenades at the foot of the stairs. B. Carmine rushed forward, but was quickly incapacitated and killed with the combined efforts of RAAM and the Theron Guard. Alan grabbed a sniper rifle, trading it for the shotgun, before diving back in cover. Alan popped out of cover, popping the head off of the Theron Guard. B. Carmine threw a smoke grenade, knocking RAAM out of cover. Alan smirked as he reloaded and RAAM stood up. A single shot blew RAAM's head off once more. Alan rushed towards the enemy base with both Carmines. Alan looked around the base, but saw no movement, except Marcus and Hoffman coming down from the hallway after killing the Grenadier. Alan looked at Zoey who was giving a dead gaze towards the TV.

Alan looked at the screen, seeing the bots heading towards the right up the stairs, all firing at a singular spot. An explosion went off in the center of the squad, killing A. Carmine and Hoffman, incapping the other Carmine, and knocking Marcus down. Zoey rushed out between the gore and soldiers. Alan aimed at the stairs, but Zoey took cover behind the wall and threw a grenade as Marcus started getting up. Alan dove to the side as Zoey rushed out from cover and ran down the stairs. The grenade exploded a second before and Zoey ran through the smoke. Alan ran towards the stairs and started firing his weapon at Zoey. Marcus revived B. Carmine and the two bots rejoined Alan. Suddenly, a quick sniper shoot took out Carmine in the blink of an eye. Alan once again dove to the side while Marcus simply took the nearest bit of cover in front of him.

"Fuck," Alan whispered. He pulled out his sniper rifle then got ready to take aim. Unfortunately, Alan didn't see Zoey anywhere. The sound of gunfire caused Alan to take cover again and look to where Marcus was firing before his head was taken off. "Damn it!"

"I'll make a deal with ya," Zoey finally said, some life finally coming back into her tone. "You have a revolver right?"

"Yeah," Alan replied.

"Down on the ground, we'll have an old fashion pistols at dawn type duel. Sound good?"

"Alright fine," Alan muttered. The survivor sighed before moving down the stairs, keeping his eye on Zoey who was standing out in the open, staring back at him. Alan then stood directly across from Skorge, waiting for Zoey to do something.

"Ready," Zoey asked.

"Sure," Alan replied.

"GO!" Zoey rushed forward and fired her pistol, missing Alan by mere inches. Alan however managed to get a few good hits, and surprisingly incapped Zoey.

"OH SHIT! Hell yeah, I finally fucking killed you! WOO!" Zoey rolled her eyes then started to crawl away. "Oh no, you're not getting away that easily baby." Alan walked forward with his pistol. "You're gonna die bitch! Get ready for it! In three, two, o-," Suddenly a grenade went off and blew Alan to chunks.

'Locust Victory,' the screen read.

"Wh-what the hell?" An achievement popped up: 'Said the Spider to the Fly.'

"Oh that's cool," Zoey replied with a small chuckle.

"What the hell! You cheated!"

"I said pistols at dawn. I can't help it if a grenade blew up in your face. Nice match though. I haven't done that to anyone in a long time. Next time just shoot the incapped guy."

"I hate you," Alan seethed.

"I warned you," was all Zoey said as she put the controller down. "I can't believe you didn't look at my screen though. I mean if I was losing that badly, I definitely would."

"I'll keep that in mind next time," Alan murmured.

Hours passed by and Alan started to work on his skills in multiplayer, while Doc kept staring out of the window and Zoey stared at empty space. She couldn't help but think of Jamie and Maria. One was injured, and the other was a little girl who rarely used a gun before. If they encountered a horde, or a Tank…

Zoey shook her head clear of the thought. Another thought popped into her mind, something she hadn't thought of since the beginning of the infection. She wondered how her parents were. She knew that they lived nearly half a country away, sending her to a college that they both thought would help her. Would the infection have reached them all the way back home? Where they safe? What if they had become zombies…? Zoey clutched the sides of her head, wanting to groan but remained silent. She curled up, bringing her knees up under her chin, eyes shut tightly, trying to think of something else.

"I think we can start throwing flares," Doc announced, lightning one of the sticks up. He tossed it through the bars, bouncing it off a car. Unfortunately, the car started blaring and beeping. "Whoops…"

"FUCK," Alan shouted as he threw the controller through the TV screen. "I'm sorry, what'd you say Doc?" The cry of a massive horde answered Alan. "Shit…"

"Come on, that's not fair," Doc complained as he picked up the automatic shotgun. Alan picked up the pump shotgun and his machete while Zoey got the dual pistols and hunting rifle. "Hold on, they might not even know we're here and go away."

Shortly after, the street was filled with countless zombies, all bashing the car and stomping on the flare. They watched from the windows, silent as they watched the mindless beasts. Zoey's nose twitched a bit before she sneezed loudly.

"Fuck," Zoey shouted, believing she alerted the horde. Unfortunately it was the outburst that alerted the zombies. "Double fuck!"

"Zoey, you pick off the zombies on the streets and Alan and I will get them at the windows!"

The zombies started to scale the walls as Doc busted the windows one by one and rained bullets down on the zombies. Several corpses fell backwards, landing on other zombies or smacking on the pavement. Zoey stood over the crouched Doc and Alan, firing randomly into the horde at any zombie she chose. The two men looked to each other with worried looks before they continued firing.

"Reloading," Alan exclaimed. Doc fired two more blasts from his shotgun.

"Ditto!"

"Thanks guys," Zoey replied angrily as she too was reloading.

Suddenly there was a loud honking noise, catching the attention of every last zombie and even the survivors. At the mouth of the road was the all too familiar SWAT van, lights shining on the infected and engine revving loudly. Inside, Maria stood behind the wheel with Jamie in the passenger's seat.

"You ready," the black haired girl asked.

"Good lord we've gotta be crazy for doing this." Jamie pressed a button on the radio and turned the new CD to track three. "Alan's gonna go nuts over this." Floored the van forward as the song started. The volume was so loud, that even Doc, Zoey, and Alan could hear it.

Jamie leaned out of the window, an assault rifle in hand as he began firing. _'In the back of my mind I can, barely even remember when, there was nothing left to hide. And she had found a way inside.'_ Jamie cheered with a rush of excitement as the zombies were either shot, ran over, or bounced off the heavily armored vehicle.

Alan leaned towards the window and listen to the song, "Is that Disturbed?"

'_And the thousand voices share their laughter at my demise! Now if I am to survive, the infection must DIE!'_

Maria turned the van sharply, plowing over several zombies as the van made a 180. "HOLY SHIT THAT'S DISTURBED!"

"So," Zoey asked.

"I haven't heard that song," Alan shouted. "But…I've heard all their albums! There's only four!"

"Apparently not," Doc murmured. "We should help them right?" Zoey handed Alan and Doc a pistol while she looked down the scope of her rifle.

Jamie started firing into the crowd, doing a gangster style drive-by, but with zombies. Maria cackled madly as she ran down any zombie stupid enough in front of her. _'Nothing left but a broken man, terrified of everything.'_

"How the hell did they get that CD," Alan screamed.

"Who cares, they're kicking the asses of those freaking zombies," Doc replied.

'_This is where I draw the line, the infection must DIE! Give me release from this demon of mine. The infection must die!'_

Maria plowed down the last zombie, leaving a street of gore and bodies. Maria leaned out of the driver's window and looked around to make sure everything was dead. "That's right! I'm so freaking awesome!"

"Now that I think about it," Doc began, "how is it she can reach the pedals?"

"Screw it, let's go," Alan replied, hastily running towards the door.

In about a minute, the three survivors walked towards the back where Jamie stood, propped up against a wall and Maria, leaning against the opposite wall, waited. "Was that cool, or am I just great," Maria asked.

"You're great," Zoey replied with a laugh. "Are you okay," the brunette asked Jamie.

"Never better," he replied. "I think I'm still sort of buzzed on pain pills."

"Enough with your lovey dovey shit," Alan shouted, pushing Doc and Zoey out of his way. "Was that Disturbed that I was listening to?"

"Their new CD," Jamie replied. "It's called Asylum, and it wasn't supposed to be released to the public for awhile, but apparently the owner of this gun store knew a guy who knew a guy in the music business, so he got the CD before it was released to the public. I guess he's dead now. Oh, and we have a lot of guns now. Another gun store, go figure."

"What was that song you were listening to called," Doc asked.

"It's our new team song," Maria replied. "It's called Infection. Fits perfectly don't it?" The black haired girl giggled a bit.

"So does this mean we can call ourselves the Z-Team," Alan questioned.

"No," four other voices rang out in unison.

"You guys SUCK!" Jamie smirked then hobbled further back into the van, allowing Alan, Zoey and Doc to get in. Maria hopped into the passenger's side while Alan got in the driver's side. Doc tossed the duffel bag of medical equipment to the side and sat down as Alan started the engine. The van slowly rolled and bumped over a few corpses, but as soon as they hit the open road, the vehicle raced forward.

**

* * *

Good GOD! This is a long chapter. I just kept adding and adding, and I wanted to make sure I had enough stuff. Now I feel I have too much. If nothing else, I pride myself on the fact that this chapter has quite a number of jokes which I find amusing and/or entertaining. Anywho, read and review!**


	7. Conspiracies

Alan- pump shotgun, machete  
Doc- automatic shotgun  
Jamie- SMG, combat knife  
Maria- SMG, pump shotgun  
Zoey- hunting rifle, katana

* * *

"That is SO irresponsible Jamie," Alan shouted from behind the wheel of the SWAT van. "Letting her shoot a gun on her own! What's the matter with you!"

"Dude, life or death situation, and plus I wish that she would've used a gun when she was mute."

"I have my reasons," Maria snapped from the front seat.

"We all do," Doc murmured as he finished wrapping up Jamie's wounded leg. "There, after half a day on an injured leg and possibly infected gash, you should be fine."

"Did I hear infected," Alan asked with an all too cheery tone.

"Oh lord," Zoey groaned. Alan pressed a button on the CD player, starting The Infection song by Disturbed.

"Why did you get him that CD," Doc snapped, turning to Jamie.

"It was that or have him bitch all day about how he doesn't like the CDs we got. I can't help it if he plays the same song twenty times over!"

"That's it, I'm gonna kill him," Maria said. "I'm gonna freaking kill him!"

"I'm sitting right next to you!" Zoey rolled her eyes and shook her head. Why everyone was acting hysterical was beyond her.

"Alright kids, I'm breaking you both up," Doc said as he moved towards the front seat.

Zoey was staring off into the distance, deep in thought. Jamie noticed the girl's expression and placed a hand on her knee. Zoey flinched slightly, coming out of her trance.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Zoey lied. "I'm fine…just thinking."

"About what?" Zoey sighed, her eyes drifting downward. She didn't want to tell Jamie that she was worried about her parents. It just seemed…pointless at the moment.

"It's nothing," Zoey murmured. "I'll tell you later okay?"

"Okay," Jamie replied, slightly worried by her tone.

"Just change the damn song," Doc ordered, leaning between Alan and Maria. "There are like twelve other tracks on this damn CD, you can pick one different one to listen to."

"I had to listen to Hannah Montana, why the hell would I want to change the song," Alan asked.

"Please let me kill him," Maria whined.

Doc turned his head to Maria, staring quizzically at the little girl, "You've become more violent all of a sudden…"

"Yeah and it's making me nervous," Alan said, also staring at Maria. Doc looked forward and was struck with fear.

"WATCH OUT!" Alan and Maria snapped their heads forward with shock. Alan turned sharply, throwing everyone and everything to one side of the van.

Zoey flew back and smacked into the wall behind her and Jamie rolled and slammed right next to her. The van suddenly began to spin around wildly, being thrown around by something outside. The survivors all screamed as Alan tried to straighten the vehicle out. There was a sudden stop as the van crashed, throwing everyone to the other side of the van, knocking Jamie, Zoey, and Doc unconscious, and knocking Maria into a dazed and confused state. Alan groaned, blood coming down from his forehead. He grabbed his shotgun and opened the door, hopping out as he cocked his gun. Before he could shoulder the shotgun, something struck him across the face, knocking Alan to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Light slowly flooded into his vision. Doc groaned as he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light. He began to sat up, but a hand on his shoulder pushed him back down. The blonde had no idea what was going on, he didn't remember what happened, and could hardly remember his own name. He looked over, seeing a man in a hazard suit with a needle holding him down. The sight of a syringe threw Doc's mind into gear.

He quickly grabbed the man by the wrist and held the syringe inches away from his bare shoulder. The man groaned as he tried to push Doc down, but the blonde was surprisingly resistant. Doc finally thrusted his head forward, causing him to stumble back. Doc quickly threw his legs off the bed then charged the man, tackling him to the ground. The syringe flew out of arm's reach, and Doc pressed all his weight down on the man.

"Who the hell are you," Doc asked. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Get off me," the man snapped with a heavy Australian accent. Doc ripped the man's mask off then punched him across the face.

"Talk damn it!"

"Fuck you," the man snapped before he spat in Doc's face.

The blonde grimaced with disgust as he tried to get the blood off his eyes. The man grabbed the blonde and rolled him off onto the floor before he made a break for the syringe. Doc got up and looked over at a nearby table, seeing a notably large scalpel. He quickly grabbed it and turned to the man with the syringe. The two stood across from one another, circling around slowly.

"Tell me what the hell you're doing," Doc snapped. "I don't want to hurt you!" The man lunged forward, the syringe high above his head. Doc grabbed the man's wrist and twisted the syringe out of his hand. The blonde survivor then tripped the man onto his face and once again pressed his weight down on him, pressing the blade of the scalpel against the back of his neck. The man winced and exclaimed shakily with fear. "Talk damn it!"

Before the man could even open his mouth, the doors busted open. Doc quickly rose to his feet and stepped back as a raging zombie flailed its limbs around wildly. The man quickly moved to get up, but the zombie tackled him and took a giant bite out of his neck. Doc moved back further with shock. He hadn't actually witnessed a zombie eating a human since the infection first broke out. And with everything that's happened in the last month, that seemed like a lifetime ago. The zombie looked up at Doc then quickly rose to its feet, blood dribbling down its chin. Doc flipped the scalpel in the air, caught it, and then hurled it forward, stabbing the zombie between the eyes. The monster groaned then fell over on its face, imbedding the blade further into its skull.

Doc sighed, leaning back against the bed he laid on just a moment ago. He looked up and gasped with shock. The man he just fought a moment ago was now standing up, eyes glowing and hollowed out of any life. He already turned into a zombie.

"No fucking way…" The zombie quickly rushed Doc, screaming an ungodly scream. Doc moved to the side as the zombie bounced against his bed. The blonde moved towards the door and quickly shut it, locking the zombie inside. Doc quickly looked over his shoulders to see if there were any other crazy people or zombies. With no movement, Doc looked back at the door then stepped back. "What the hell is going on?"

Doc turned around and looked around the room he was in. It looked like an empty receptionist area in a vacant hospital. Doc looked around then walked towards the nearest blunt object: a fire extinguisher. As he pulled it off the wall, Doc wondered what happened to the others. Were they in the same situation as he was, or maybe worse? Doc sighed heavily before he continued forward, heading towards the door across from the room.

Doc spent the better part of ten minutes roaming the floor of what was most definitely a hospital and found no signs of life, infected or otherwise. The blonde sighed and leaned against a wall, looking down the hall. Granted he didn't backtrack any, which was a good sign, but finding nothing wasn't great either.

He pulled his foot back, seeing that he stepped on a vanilla folder with papers in it. Doc knelt down and picked up the file and began skimming through it. He blinked with confusion as he read about research trying to…control humans? Why anyone would want to research something like that during the zombie apocalypse was a head scratcher. Doc continued thumbing through the files. Whoever was performing this research made a breakthrough, via the Green Flu.

"No way," Doc murmured to himself. He continued reading.

The scientist, Elliot Johnson, was a member of CEDA and a predominant scientist within the organization. He was set out to study the Green Flu, along with several other CEDA scientists. Elliot Johnson was apparently put in charge of this self control project. By studying the Green Flu's mutations, he could manipulate the early stages of the virus to improve human capabilities greatly. However, the success rate was next to nothing. The file read that countless people were killed from the experiments, or became zombies from the Green Flu. Even those who were immune to the virus were killed by the experiments Elliot Johnson performed.

Doc's eyes widened with realization. When he woke up, that one man was trying to inject him with something. It had to be the Green Flu. These experiments were still being performed?

"Doc!" Said survivor quickly spun around, holding the folder up in preparation to strike. Jamie looked down at the 'weapon' cracking a slight smirk before looking up at Doc. "Scary…"

"Jamie! Jesus, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jamie replied. The brunette gave a curious stare at Doc, examining up and down.

"What," Doc questioned.

"Have you been working out?" Doc cocked a questioning eyebrow then looked down, realizing for the first time he wasn't wearing a shirt. "Hey, I'm not judging, you're actually really fit for a doctor."

"Shut up," Doc sniped, thanking the darkness to hide his reddened cheeks.

"Seriously though, what happened? I woke up and this guy was injecting me with something."

"He actually injected you," Doc asked.

"Yeah, but I don't feel any different really. When I actually sat up, the guy suddenly became all scared and aimed this pistol at me." Jamie held up said firearm to illustrate his point. "And he evidently was kind enough to keep my knife nearby."

"What happened then?"

"Well…a zombie busted in and got a good chunk out of that sucker before it focused its eyes on me. I ran past it, got my knife and took the guy's gun, shot the zombie and then the guy turned into a zombie so I stabbed him. I started to wander around and well…here we are."

"So you don't know where the others are," Doc asked. Jamie shook his head. "Let me see where they injected you." Jamie rolled up his sleeve and pointed to his shoulder. Doc leaned forward and squinted. He could hardly see the microscopic hole the needle left behind. "Well…it doesn't look bad so far, but keep and eye on it. There's some seriously twisted shit going on around here."

"Like what?"

Doc held up the folder, "Apparently there was a scientist of CEDA here who found a way to control humans, strip them of their will, through some crazy ass tests during the early stages of infection from the Green Flu virus."

"That's bad right…?"

"They were trying to perform these experiments on us! You were being injected with the Green Flu." Jamie's eyes widened with shock before he screamed and pulled up his sleeve, looking at his arm with fear. "Calm down, you're immune remember. If a zombie bite won't infect you, then a needle won't turn you into a blood thirsty beast. But we've gotta find the others. If they get further than they did with you…well, the success rates for these experiments are low. Literally a hundred to one…"

Jamie looked at Doc with an expression of worry all over his face. The brunette's face hardened as he walked ahead of Doc, looking back over his shoulder. "I'll take point since I got the gun." Doc nodded then followed closely behind Jamie who raised his pistol up, turning the flashlight attachment on.

Jamie and Doc moved down a small flight of stairs and entered a hallway. Jamie looked one way, sweeping his flashlight across the darkness, while Doc stood at his back, trying to focus through the darkness. Jamie started to move his flashlight away, but jerked it back to the right once he saw something move. The brunette kept his flashlight on that one spot, knowing that if it was a zombie it'd come rushing soon. And if it was person…then they would be waiting and hiding.

A high pitch scream caused Jamie to spin around, shining his light down the other end of the hallway. Maria came stumbling around the end of a corner and ran towards the light as a small band of zombies came chasing after her.

"Keep your head down," Jamie shouted.

"Jamie," Maria screamed as she ducked down, still running.

Doc ducked down as Jamie fired, putting his arm behind Maria as the two ran down the other end of the hall. Jamie started skipping back, firing two more rounds before he turned and followed the other survivors. Doc and Maria turned a corner, oblivious to the movement Jamie saw moments ago. As the brunette got to the corner he quickly turned his gun and light to the room where he saw movement. He looked for a couple a seconds before aiming his gun down the other end of the hall and firing two more rounds and ran off.

"In here," Doc called out.

Jamie ran up to the door where the blonde was waving then entered the room. Doc slammed the door and locked it before stepping back. A few seconds later, countless bodies and fists began slamming against the door. Jamie turned on the lights and looked around, focusing in on Maria. The little girl was red in the face and sweating from running. She panted heavily in an attempt to catch her breath before looking up at Jamie and Doc.

"What the hell is going on," the little girl asked. "I woke up in like an operating room or something."

"Were there any men," Doc questioned. Maria nodded. "Did they inject you with something?"

"N-no," Maria murmured as she rubbed the back of her head. "But I tired to make a run for it and this guy slammed me against a wall…"

"What happened to him," Jamie asked.

"A Smoker got him and I made a break for it. I ran as quickly as I could and I guess I accidently knocked something over and alerted those zombies." Doc and Jamie flinched as there was an extra loud banging from the door. After a second, they both turned back to Maria. "The guy was talking on his radio though. He said…that they took 'the other two survivors to the lower levels' I think." Maria rubbed the back of her head again, "I'm not for certain though…everything was kind of fuzzy after that…"

"Are you certain they didn't inject you with something Maria," Doc asked, urging desperately for an answer.

"The guy on the radio replied to just inject me and get back to the lower levels," Maria replied. "I _do_ remember that right before the Smoker got him." Doc and Jamie spun around as a loud crash was heard. Jamie raised his gun, seeing a zombie's arm flailing through a hole in the door.

"Doc, move to the other end of the room with Maria," Jamie ordered. Doc quickly lifted the girl to her feet and moved to the far corner of the room.

Jamie focused on keeping his breathing even and calm as dents started to pop out from the metal door. The hinges jerked loosely and Jamie tightened his grip. The door was thrown down to the ground and zombies started to flood in. Jamie popped one straight through the head, skimming a second zombie across the skull with one bullet. The survivor backed up slowly, firing as quickly as he could into the small horde of zombies. Doc watched carefully, keeping Maria behind him while keeping a firm hold on the fire extinguisher. Jamie fired the last bullet, punching a hole straight through the last zombie's forehead. The brunette sighed, brushing his bangs to the side before he unloaded the empty clip and slammed in a fresh one.

"We'd better get moving," Doc suggested. Jamie nodded then moved out of the room first, followed shortly by Doc and Maria. They looked down one end of the hall then down the way they came, all showing the same shocked and horrified expression. "TANK!"

Said beast was rampaging down the halls, tearing through entire walls with its fists as it rushed the survivors.

"GO, GO, GO," Jamie shouted, firing bullets as Doc and Maria ran away. Jamie fired a few more bullets before he turned tail and ran.

Maria, being the fastest, got to a T in the hallway. She looked down the left and then to the right. "Elevator!" Doc caught up with Maria and saw the same sight.

"Go," Doc snapped, urging Maria forward. The black haired girl quickly ran forward, pressing the down button a thousand times while looking back nervously.

Jamie stood next to Doc, pushing him down the hall as he fired at the Tank. Doc rushed down the hall, but stopped once he saw a fire axe hanging on the wall. He used the fire extinguisher to bust out the glass and quickly seized the weapon. By this time, Jamie was next to Doc, pushing him down the hall with the Tank hot on their trail.

"Hurry," Maria screamed. Doc quickly got into the elevator, followed shortly by Jamie. The black haired girl started frantically hitting the lowest floors she could while pressing the close button.

As the doors began to close, the Tank got closer and pulled its fist back, ready to strike. As soon as they began to move down, they heard the sound of metal bending around the Tank's fist. Jamie leaned back against a wall and slumped down onto his rear with a heavy sight of relief. Doc laughed with a smile on his face, looking to Maria and Jamie. Suddenly, the entire elevator shook violently.

"Oh come on," Doc shouted. The Tank's massive arm punched through the ceiling of the elevator in between all the survivors.

"Damn it," Jamie shouted as he pulled out his knife.

The brunette rushed forward and stabbed the Tank it the arm. The beast roared with pain as it pulled its arm up, along with Jamie, and threw the survivor in the air. Jamie screamed with terror as he was flung into the air like a ragdoll, flailing his arms and legs wildly into the air as he fell towards the descending elevator. The Tank was lying on its stomach as it punched its arm back into the elevator, just as Jamie landed on its back.

The pistol was dropped in the elevator, right beneath the Tank's hand. Maria slowly stretched her leg outward, wiggling her foot to try and get the pistol. Doc saw this and cursed himself as he rushed forward with the fire axe, chopping the blade into the Tank's arm. The beast bellowed with pain as it pulled its arm back again. Doc kicked the pistol towards Maria then jumped back against the wall as the Tank smashed its arm through again.

Jamie's eyes were bulging with fear. He had done some stupid things before, but lying on a Tank's back while it was trying to kill his teammates in an elevator going down was definitely in the top ten. Jamie lifted his knife high above his head then stabbed as close to the Tank's head as he could. The beast roared with pain and rolled back and forth, trying to shake Jamie off. Luckily, the beast didn't have much room to move, so Jamie held on, twisting and turning his knife in the Tank.

Maria lifted the pistol up, taking careful aim at the Tank's face as she fired one bullet straight in its face. The beast roared as the bullet punched through its eye. The Tank lifted its head up in pain.

Jamie quickly pulled his knife out then stabbed as quickly and forcefully as he could into the beast's head. The Tank roared and moved its massive arms to attack, but with so little room, it wasn't even able to grab Jamie before he stabbed it four times in the face, thoroughly killing the beast.

Doc and Maria sighed from within the elevator, seeing that the beast was dead as blood trickled from its head and onto the floor. The damage done to the roof, caused by the Tank, however caused the metal to creak before the beast fell through. Doc and Maria screamed with fear as they jumped into the far corners of the elevator, narrowly avoiding the crushing weight of the carcass. They looked up, seeing Jamie sitting on the roof of the elevator with his legs dangling inside and a cocky smirk on his face.

"You think that exceeds weight capacity," Jamie asked breathlessly and jokingly.

"Yeah, we get it, you're awesome," Maria said with an equally cocky smirk on her face.

"So long as you don't forget," Jamie replied.

The elevator slowed to a stop and the bell dinged. The survivors looked at the doors as they opened. Nothing was on the other side besides an empty and dusty room. Jamie jumped down and followed Doc and Maria outside.

Suddenly, a pained cry was heard, causing the survivors to turn their heads to the left. A man wearing a black uniform stumbled out, followed by a man wearing a hazmat suit and another man in black. Alan came fumbled out as well, turning to the way he came and blocked the strike of another man, punched him in the stomach before throwing him into the room. A second man came out of the room, striking Alan in the back of the head, causing him to stagger forward.

"Come on you sons a bitches," Alan said, sounding half delirious, blood trailing at the corner of his lip and from his hairline. "Is that all ya got!" One man rushed forward, ready to strike Alan before Jamie speared him in the side. "What the?"

Doc smashed the fire extinguisher across the face of the man in the hazmat suit, soundly knocking him out. One of the men in black grabbed Doc from behind and a second ran up to punch him. Doc lifted his feet off the ground and dropkicked the man in the face before putting his feet back on the ground. Doc lifted one of his feet up and stamped down on the man's foot. The man cried out and released Doc and was shortly met with a fire extinguisher across the face. The man Doc dropkicked pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the back of the blonde's head. A gunshot went off, but not from the man in black. He screamed with pain and dropped to the floor, holding his bleeding leg with both hands. Maria walked up and kicked the gun out of reach, still aiming her pistol at the man's head.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," the man groaned. Maria smirked and tilted her head unsympathetically before smashing the bottom of her foot against the man's face, knocking him unconscious.

Jamie ducked under his opponent's swinging punch, jabbed him in the stomach with his fist and then in the side. The man knelt down in pain, holding his side before pulling out a knife. Jamie quickly flipped his blade out, grabbed the man by the wrist and held his blade against his throat as he pushed the man to the ground.

Alan blocked the last man's punch before socking him across the face. The man stumbled back and reached to his hip. Alan quickly rushed forward and grabbed the pistol at the man's hips. Alan groaned along with the man, slowly adjusting the gun's aim towards the man's foot.

"I've always wanted to do this," Alan said, his face red with strain before he fired a bullet into the man's foot. The man screamed with pain and fell to the ground as Alan pulled the gun out of his holster. "Hell yeah bitch!" Alan kicked the man across the face, ceasing the man's pained screams. The bulky survivors then spat on the man's unconscious body before turning to his team. "Where the hell were you guys? I had to take those guys on all by myself for like five minutes!"

"Good to see you too," Jamie grunted, trying to keep his opponent on the ground. "Do you know where Zoey is?"

"Yeah," Alan replied, rubbing his arm under his nose while he sniffed.

"Alright." Jamie grabbed the man's head then smashed his face into the ground. The man's body went limp as consciousness faded from him. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Crazy mad scientists and armed guards is all I've been able to piece together," Alan said. "I was kind of busy fighting five guys at once."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Jamie muttered as he took his opponent's gun. "Basically there's some crazy CEDA scientist who found a way to control people through the early stages of infection from the Green Flu, and the success rate for the experiments are low, even for those immune to the Green Flu." Maria and Alan stared at Jamie with wide eyes before looking at each other. "We need to find Zoey, and fast. Lead the way Alan."

The survivors stripped the guards of their pistols and followed Alan to a flight of stairs. Jamie was the one with two pistols while everyone else had one. "They brought us down here on some stretchers or something. Zoey was ahead of me, and I saw them take her through a pair of doors before I got up. They closed the doors on me before I could get to her, and apparently they wanted me alive otherwise they would've shot me on sight right? Well, I fought my way up these stairs and to where you guys were."

The survivors got to the bottom of the stairs and stood before a large pair of double doors. "This is it," Doc asked.

"Yep, Zoey's behind that door."

"Let us in," Jamie shouted. Unbeknownst to the survivors, a camera lens zoomed in on them. The doors unlatched, causing the survivors to flinch. The doors hissed open as they slid apart. Jamie quickly rushed into the room, followed by Alan, Maria, and then Doc. "Zoey, where are you? Zoey!"

"Why hello there," a voice called out. The survivors looked up, seeing a man wearing a white lab coat, standing on a catwalk above. The man had shaggy blonde hair, wore glassed, and was most likely around his mid forties. "Welcome survivors, welcome. I'm impressed that all four of you managed to survive."

"Oh god, I sense a cheesy sci-fi twist coming on," Alan groaned.

"Oh, not really Alan," the man replied, walking casually to one side. "My name is Elliot Johnson. Dr. Elliot Johnson."

"Alright, now that the formalities are out of the way," Jamie raised his pistol up to the man and screamed: "WHERE'S ZOEY?"

"Dear oh dear, such a temper you have young man. You're not interested in who I am, or what I do?"

"Where is she!"

"Fine, I'll just have to tell you myself: I'm a professor working for CEDA. I was put in charge of studying the Green Flu virus, and working with ways to…adapt it."

"Adapt it," Doc repeated in outrage. "CEDA is supposed to stop the virus, why the hell are you trying to adapt it!"

"A few of us in CEDA, an alarming number, believe that there is no cure for the Green Flu virus. So we thought to ourselves, if we can't cure it, we'll just control it. The Green Flu basically turns people into mindless beasts, and we as a race have tamed beasts before."

"If you're trying to control the virus, then why the hell are you performing experiments on living people," Doc shouted. "What the hell will that solve if you just kill people?"

"Oh you've read the file," Elliot stated. "Baby steps, by controlling the beginning stages of the Green Flu, we'll be able to make enough progress to where we can control the current infected in all their current forms."

"Current forms," Maria shouted. "Maybe you don't know: but zombies are still evolving!"

"I've heard enough," Doc exclaimed, raising his pistol at Elliot. "Where's Zoey?"

Elliot sneered deviously as he looked down on the survivors. A gunshot went off, causing the four to jump with fright. They lowered their heads and looked forward, seeing Zoey, wearing leather pants and a tight leather jacket, rushing towards them. The brunette sprung forward and rolled in the center of the group. She quickly punched Doc in the gut, socked Alan across the face, and threw her elbow across Jamie's face. Zoey grabbed Doc then threw him into a nearby operating table. Doc rolled over the table with a pained grunt and landed on his back. He looked over, seeing a small pile of human bodies stacked on top of each other. The blonde covered his mouth, feeling as though he may vomit. Elliot looked over, seeing Doc discovered the failures in his experiment.

"Sacrifices must be made," Elliot called out, looking at Doc. "Those survivors served a higher purpose in death. Zoey here was one of the lucky ones." The brunette faced Alan and Jamie, both of whom were confused and panicked. "The first step to control has been taken through her. You may have been wondering what those injections were we tried to give you? Well, they were a strain of the Green Flu virus. Right now we're controlling your friend Zoey with the Green Flu inside of her. And so far we seem to be getting positive results."

"This is such a Resident Evil rip off," Alan shouted.

"Now is REALLY not the time," Jamie snapped.

Zoey rushed forward. Alan threw a punch, which Zoey quickly ducked under. The brunette struck Alan under his shoulder, grabbed his arm, twisted it around and threw him to the ground. Zoey then turned to Jamie who took a cautious step back.

"Out method of control involves direct injections of a special drug, that not only offer control, but enhance normal humans' abilities to…well superhuman. Reflexes, speed, agility, strength, they're all enhanced thanks to my breakthroughs. Right now Zoey knows nothing other than what I tell her. The drug works with the Green Flu, not against it. In a sense: she's a zombie on a leash. Soon, we'll be able to control the infected, special or otherwise in all their forms that will most likely evolve and mutate. This just proves that we can control the Green Flu in a person's body, and with a few more tests, we'll be able to control any infected we so desire."

Doc popped out of cover, firing a few rounds at Elliot. The scientist cried out and shielded himself from the bullets. Zoey snapped her head to Doc, pulled out a pistol and fired a few rounds at him. Doc cried out and ducked behind cover.

"FUCK!" Zombies were one thing, getting shot at was enough to make Doc jumpy as hell.

Jamie quickly lunged forward. Zoey looked back at the survivor and spun to the side. As Jamie ran past her, she grabbed the back of his shirt and hurled him over a couple of operating tables. Elliot stood up and straightened his tie while glaring at Doc's hiding space.

"Improvements to the Green Flu virus must be made artificially for better control however," Elliot continued. "If it mutates in a way we can't predict or manage, things could get out of hand. If we evolve the Green Flu ourselves, we can choose the way the virus evolves itself." Alan quickly rose to his feet then rushed Zoey. The brunette spun around and blocked Alan's first and second punch before she jerked her head back from the third. Alan stumbled a bit before facing Zoey again in a boxer's stance. "You've already encountered one of our little byproducts. What'd you call it…Lasher?"

Alan threw his fist forward. Zoey pushed the blow aside then socked Alan in the face. The survivor stumbled back, groaning as he held his nose. Zoey moved forward as Alan moved back.

Jamie wrapped his arms around Zoey from behind, holding her with all his might. Zoey grunted and screamed as she fought against his grip. Finally, the brunette simply thrusted her foot down and stomped on Jamie's foot. Jamie cried out with pain, loosening his grip enough for Zoey to break free. Jamie groaned as he focused on Zoey. The female brunette swung forward, and was blocked by Jamie. Zoey threw a straight punch, which Jamie shielded himself from with both arms. The force of the punch still caused Jamie to stumble back. Zoey walked forward, her face showing fierce anger. Jamie inhaled deeply as Zoey closed in. She threw another cross which Jamie ducked under. Jamie threw a punch, landing a solid blow on Zoey's gut. The brunette cried out and held her stomach before glaring up at Jamie in anger. Zoey rushed forward throwing her foot up in the air, contacting with Jamie's face. The survivor was lifted off his feet and flipped backwards before slamming on his front with a heavy thud. Zoey placed her shin on the back of Jamie's neck, baring her weight down on him as she pulled his arm up. Jamie winced and cried out with pain.

"You must understand that I'm doing what needs to be done," Elliot stated. "But don't worry, I'll be sure not to kill you too quickly." The scientist held up a vial of a light green liquid. "I have a new strain I'd like to try out. My last one created that Lasher you encountered. I'm curious to see what this will do." A gunshot went off, causing Elliot to cry out with pain and fall on one leg. He held his thigh as the vial fell out of his grasp and towards the ground. "NO! Retrieve the sample!"

Without question, Zoey released Jamie and ran forward as quickly as she could to grab the vial. The brunette dove forward and flipped gracefully onto her feet with the vial in hand. Elliot smirked, happy his new sample wasn't gone. He looked around to see where the shot could've come from, but a light cocking noise right behind his head answered his question. He turned around, seeing a black haired, twelve year old girl with a pistol in his face.

"Hey there," Maria seethed angrily through a smile. Elliot stared at the gun as if it would go off any second.

"Zoey," Elliot called out. Said brunette walked quickly to one end of the room, jumped onto an operating table, sprung up and grabbed the rails of the catwalk, before planting her feet on the metal, standing across from Elliot and Maria. "Get this little girl away from me!"

"You sure you wanna do that," Maria asked as she pressed the gun against Elliot's temple. Another gun cocked quietly. Maria looked up, her blue eyes full of shock as she saw Zoey aiming a pistol at her.

"Oh I'm quite sure," Elliot answered with a devious smile on his face. "Lower your weapon and I promise that Zoey won't kill you. If you shoot me, I promise that she will kill you and the rest of your team."

On the ground, Jamie, Alan, and Doc watched with horror. "What the hell do we do," Alan asked.

"We pray," Doc murmured.

"Lower your gun little girl," Elliot cautioned. Zoey slowly walked forward, keeping her eyes and gun on Maria. The little girl was worried, but she kept her gun on the madman trying to kill them.

"Zoey," Maria pleaded. "Don't do this. It's me: Maria!" Zoey showed no sign of acknowledgement, continuing her slow approach towards the little girl. "Don't you remember? The mute little girl who later turned out to be a wonderfully cute and fun person? The person who keeps trying to get you and Jamie together because I _know_ you love him." Zoey stopped. Elliot looked with confusion while Maria's lips tugged at a smile. "And Alan, that lovable idiot who lives to kill zombies? Or Doc, the old guy who likes underage kids."

"Seriously: WHAT THE HELL?"

"And he likes to bitch a lot," Maria added quickly. "Zoey, please tell me this is getting through to you…" The brunette's face remained emotionless. "Please Zoey…don't do this…" Zoey's face twitched suddenly as her arm began to lower slowly.

"What the—no," Elliot shouted. "Shoot her!" Zoey's arm stopped, her grip tightening on the pistol.

"Zoey, we're friends," Maria pleaded. "We're like sisters." Zoey's face cringed with strain. She raised her free hand up to her head and groaned as her head was flooded with memories.

Elliot screamed with rage as he spun around, grabbing Maria's gun and dragging the girl to the floor with him. The girl screamed and tired kicking free from the man's overpowering grasp.

"Maria," Jamie shouted. The three men rushed towards the stairs to help.

"Stupid little girl," Elliot seethed.

"Fuck you too," Maria snapped as she kicked the scientist in the face.

As the other survivors got up to the catwalk, they rushed towards Maria. Instinct and indoctrination caused Zoey to snap her gun up to the other three, but a look of shock and confusion washed over her face. The survivors stopped in their tracks, despite desperately wanting to help Maria. Jamie looked down at Elliot wrestling with Maria, and instantly took a step forward. Zoey shot at Jamie's foot, causing the survivor to stop and snap his head up at her. More confusion filled Zoey's head as she looked as though she was ready to cry.

"Get them out of here," Elliot ordered with Maria's hand pushing his face away. Zoey slowly walked forward, oblivious to what she was actually doing. Her gun and eyes were focused on the three survivors who looked at her pleadingly.

"Zoey please help us," Jamie begged. "Help Maria damn it!" Zoey stopped dead in her tracks, ignoring Elliot and Maria fighting next to her as she clutching the side of her head, groaning with pain. "You've gotta let us help her Zoey!"

"Shoot them," Elliot screamed.

Zoey raised her shaking arm up, despite her pained face. Maria looked over then quickly kicked Zoey in the ankle. The brunette cried out then fell to one knee. The other three survivors rushed forward. Alan grabbed Zoey's arm holding the gun while Doc took hold of the other side. Jamie quickly ran up and threw Elliot off of Maria and onto his back. Maria stood up, her hair messy and her face was red. Zoey grunted with effort as she thrashed around, fighting between Elliot's control and her own free will. Doc looked at Zoey's other hand, noticing the Green Virus vial in her hands. The blonde quickly pressed his weight against her arm and pried the vial from her grasp.

"Kill them Zoey," Elliot ordered. Jamie turned around and kicked the man across the face, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Shut up already."

"Zoey," Maria murmured softly between pants. The brunette groaned before opening her eyes, looking forward at the little girl.

"Maria," Zoey replied softly. The black haired girl beamed happily as she cried out. Alan and Doc released their grip from Zoey, letting the brunette dropping to her knees in a heap. Zoey groaned, dropping her pistol to hold the side of her head. "What happened…?"

Maria ran up and hugged Zoey, "You kicked everyone's ass, but you're fine now."

"I what…?"

"You've played Resident Evil 5 right," Alan asked. Zoey nodded with a questioning look. "You were basically Jill and kicked our asses all over the place. And Maria was Chris I guess." Zoey groaned again. Maria looked with shock as she felt something strange bulging from Zoey's back.

"Uh…I think someone is gonna get sued," Maria said. "There's something on her back."

"He put it there," Zoey stated. She looked at the beaten scientist lying on the ground. "He put something on me and…all I remember is…a lot of pain…"

"Come on," Doc said softly as he helped Zoey to her feet. "You need to rest…"

"What about this guy," Jamie asked, kicking Elliot forcefully.

"We'll keep him somewhere out of the way until we find out what to do with him," Doc replied. "Tie him up and throw him in a corner for all I care."

A few minutes later, Alan and Jamie restrained and knocked out Elliot and threw him next to the pile of dead bodies before they met Doc and Maria back in the front of the labs. "Damn, this is…well…unexpected," Alan stated simply.

"I can't believe CEDA is doing shit like this," Jamie muttered. "This is…BS!"

"There's not a whole lot we can do right now," Doc said. "I felt the thing that's on Zoey's back and…well, we definitely need to get it off of her."

"So? Just take the thing off."

"It's not that simple Alan."

"It never is," Jamie murmured grimly.

"From what I felt and from what Maria tells me, the thing is imbedded into her back. To get it out…I may need to do surgery…"

"On her back," Alan questioned.

"Near her spine," Doc corrected. Silence filled the room. It didn't take a guy with a PHD to know that an operation like that would be dangerous.

"We could interrogate Elliot about an easier way," Alan suggested.

"He won't talk," Doc sighed. "He's bat-shit crazy. There's no chance he'll talk." Silence once again occupied the air. Jamie stared at the ground for a long moment before he looked up.

"I'll get him to talk," Jamie stated. The other three looked over at him. Jamie stared at Alan knowingly. "You guys…may not want to be in the same room when I ask him though."

"No Jamie," Doc snapped. "You can't stoop that low. You're better than that."

"So it's either I torture this maniac, or you blindly perform a dangerous surgery on Zoey?" Everyone was quiet.

"We ask Zoey what she wants to do," Maria stated. All eyes were on here now. "We wait until she wakes up, tell her our options, and let her decide." Doc looked up at Jamie. The brunette stared back and nodded once.

Doc and Alan walked off to see what they could find in the lab. Maria looked up at Jamie who was once again staring at the ground quietly. Maria walked up and grabbed Jamie's hand.

"I know you're upset, but there's not a whole lot you can do right now," Maria said. Jamie sighed then looked into Maria's blue eyes. "Just be patient okay? I know you care about her. We all do. But we can't make reckless decisions like torturing some crazy lunatic without telling her right?"

"Right," Jamie replied quietly with a small nod. Maria smiled then hugged Jamie reassuringly. Jamie took in a deep breath then wrapped his arms around Maria in silence.

**

* * *

So…I'm extraordinarily nervous about this whole thing. I honestly don't know how well the whole Zoey/mind control/ass kicking-ness will go over with everyone…I'm taking risks damn it! I promise though that no one will become a Zoey/Jill bad ass after this, even if it is well received! I promise though after this it'll be back to zombie action, and survivor drama.  
Just remember: I'm trying to make this story a lot darker than Back 4 More was. By darker, I mean like the ending of Back 4 More, but throughout an entire story.**

**So yeah, please don't kill me for having Zoey become a Jill Re5 knock-off…please? It just came out of nowhere. But feel free to leave reviews!**


	8. Choices

"So…you guys have to perform a dangerous surgery to fix the mind control thing," Zoey questioned. The survivors were in a small ER. Zoey was sitting up in a bed while everyone else was standing around her.

"That's basically it," Doc murmured. Zoey looked down, pulling her mouth to the side as she thought carefully to herself.

"Can I just leave the thing in and kick everyone's ass?"

"That's what my vote was for," Maria stated, raising her hand up quickly. "You all were there, you saw it!"

"We're not entirely sure what'll happen if we leave it alone," Doc explained with a soft, sympathetic tone. "Elliot claims that this infection is an altered version of the Green Flu to better control whatever host the virus infects, with of course the aid of whatever the hell is on your back. It could slowly be killing you, or you could lose control suddenly. We don't know, and we really don't want to find out Zoey."

"Can't you just tear it off like in Resident Evil," Zoey asked. "Or hell, shoot it?"

"Yeah, that's not going to work. This thing, for all we know, could be wrapped around your spinal cord. Shooting it could kill you or paralyze you for life. And if we tried just yanking it out we could pull your entire spine with it."

"I've got no good choices do I," Zoey asked.

"Well…we're in a hospital. I'm a doctor. There is a still working operating OR that we could use…"

"Is it sterile," Zoey asked.

"Surprisingly enough it doesn't look like any zombies even came within a hundred miles of it." Zoey lowered her eyes to the floor then looked up.

"What if you can't remove it…?"

"We will," Jamie snapped, cutting off Doc before he could even speak. Zoey looked at Jamie for a moment before shifting her eyes to Doc.

"We'll do what we can and then close you back up if we can't get all of it out. We plan on interrogating Elliot a bit and try to find as much as we can on whatever he installed into you."

"Are you sure you can do this by yourself," Zoey asked cautiously. "Doesn't a normal surgeon team usually have more than four people?"

"There are a few people who worked for Elliot who offered to help us," Maria replied with a warm smile. "They were all basically bullied by Elliot, and they hate him."

"Can we trust them?"

"You bet, they showed us plenty of files and showed us a hidden armory," Maria explained. "And a few of them locked Elliot away and are guarding his room right now. They even beat the crap out of him to show that they hate Elliot. Most of the security workers were former cops and military that took refuge here from the infection under the belief that CEDA and Elliot could save them."

"Once things got bad enough, Elliot basically made no effort in hiding his intentions, claiming that his research was the only way they could escape," Alan continued. "After we beat the crap out of half the staff, and a few of the others got munched on by zombies, AND after we took down Elliot and locked him away, they're more than happy to help us."

Zoey lowered her gaze to her lap before moving her eyes up to the people around her. With a hardened resolve, Zoey nodded firmly to Doc. Doc smiled then turned and exited the room with Alan. Maria started to walk out, but stopped halfway to the door. She turned around, seeing Jamie facing Zoey, but his eyes were averted elsewhere. Zoey opened her mouth to say something, but Jamie quickly spun around and walked out of the room. The brunette tilted her head with confusion while Maria watched Jamie with narrowed eyes.

"Is he okay," Zoey asked.

"I'm…not really sure actually…" Maria turned to Zoey then smiled warmly. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. You've got enough on your plate as is." The black haired girl turned towards the door.

"Maria," Zoey called out. The young girl quickly stopped, nearly losing balance, before turning around to Zoey. "Um…would you mind keeping me company? Ya know, in case I need somebody to shoot zombies or perverts."

"Can't you just beat their asses like you did with everyone else," Maria asked with a grin. Zoey smiled back as Maria turned around and took a seat next to Zoey's bed.

* * *

Doc entered a small room that was dark, damp, and reeked of death. In the center of the room, Elliot Johnson sat in a chair, his hands tied behind his back with a table in front of him. The deranged scientist looked up and smiled as the door closed behind Doc.

"Why hello there, Doc was it?" The blonde remained silent, his eyes fixated on the man before him. Elliot continued, "Why go by such childish titles? We're both adults here Robert."

"How do I remove that thing from Zoey's back," Doc questioned.

"Not a Robert," Elliot mused mockingly. "You certainly look like a Robert. Hm…how about Brandon?"

"Answer the question," Doc hissed.

"Oh come now, I need to know your name first. It's not proper etiquette to do business without knowing a person's name." In the blink of an eye, Doc moved forward, pulled out a pistol and pressed it against Elliot's forehead. The scientist casually moved his eyes up to the barrel pointed at his head before looking back at Doc. "Oh, you expect me to believe that you'll actually kill me? Despite what's happened to the world: you're still a doctor. You could do no harm to a living person."

"And despite what you've been doing here I know you're still a human," Doc replied. He slowly pulled the gun away and took a step back from Elliot. "It's over. You've lost and you're at the mercy of a lot of people you've used and pissed off. Are you really going to die for worthless research? What'll happen anyway with your research? You're making the situation with the Green Flu worse by trying to engineer it. People are looking to CEDA for a cure, not for more zombies, not more monsters!"

"Unfortunately Mister Bruce…" Doc made no reaction to the name. "Unfortunately…Mister Doc, the Green Flu cannot be cured."

"I cured it with the research notes of one of the labs in-,"

"What you did was defeated and suppressed the Green Flu when it was at its weakest. Yes, the Green Flu can be stopped in its initial stages. But, once the infection has taken over, it has no definite cure. It's almost as if it's more of a living organism rather than a virus. It adapts and mutates to any forms of cures we try to make. First, normal infected, which slowly progressed further to the special infected: Hunters, Smokers, before they started becoming even worse: Tanks and Witches as you call them. The virus adapts to protect itself, it mutates for the sake of self preservation, not unlike the human race. The difference is that we can fool the virus! That's what my research was: to induce mutations so that we can control them! If we cannot track how the virus mutates, then we cannot understand the virus, nor can we control it. If we choose how the virus evolves then we could use it to control the infected! You saw my results with the 'Lasher' as you so dubbed it."

"You couldn't control that thing," Doc murmured.

"I did though. Granted I can't control it like I did Zoey, which proved to be a major breakthrough in my research, but it could listen! It was the first zombie to show reasoning skills was it not? When it first arrived, it chose to attack Alan. Why? Because physically he was the largest of you all. Then after your group separated, it chose which pair to go after. You had Maria with you. A young girl and yourself are no spry chicken are you? Jamie and Zoey were both fit young adults, and both were armed with guns. Other infected just attack any random survivor. Tanks, Hunters, Smokers, Jockeys, they all have no preference, no thought behind who they're attacking. They just see humans and they attack without a second thought! The only exceptions were Witches of course. They attacked whoever seemed to bother them the most. By studying them closely we were able to make the first zombie with reasoning skills: the Lasher!"

"So…instead of trying to stop this threat of the infection, you're making new, more dangerous zombies! As if its regeneration wasn't bad enough, it has reasoning skills now!"

"Oh don't be like that. If we can give them reasoning skills, then we can eventually give them thought! We can engineer the infected to serve humanity's purposes! They could be our slaves, our laborers, our soldiers in the front lines of war."

"You can't control something like that! It's hard enough to tame wild animals, but you actually want to try and tame the most dangerous, living, threat in the world?"

"It _can_ be done!"

"If zombies can be controlled, they can be cured. With science, not guns. You wasted all your time, all those lives for some stupid ideal?"

"I certainly wouldn't be the first now would I?" Doc sighed, shaking his head with disbelief. "Now, didn't you have some business concerning Miss Zoey?" Doc turned his head, half expecting the scientist to make an annoying remark. "Well…I'm no surgeon, so I'm not sure what good I could do. It should be relatively simple for you and my former medical staff shouldn't it?" Doc rolled his eyes then walked towards the door. He tapped on the heavy metal twice before looking back at the grinning scientist.

"I hope you burn in hell," Doc whispered as the door behind him opened. The blonde exited and the door behind him shut, leaving Elliot in his little box.

* * *

Jamie sat on a desk in one of the doctor's abandoned offices, staring out of a broken window in the abandoned city. There were no zombies around the immediate area, which was good. The OR was being sterilized by the medical team, and while the surgery was happening, Jamie, Alan, and the other armed guards had to make sure no zombies got through. If anything happened during the operation Zoey could die. The brunette sighed as he lowered his eyes to the streets.

"Jamie," Alan's oh-so-eager voice shouted. "Jamie, look!" The brunette turned his head, staring at Alan wearing a strange pack on his back which was attached to a hose, attached to a gun. "The guys got me a flame thrower! This so makes up for my loss of an RPG!"

"Cool," Jamie replied with a monotone voice.

"Yo, what's with you?"

"I dunno," Jamie breathed out as he looked out the window again. Alan waited, placing the flame thrower on his shoulder with a hand on his hip. Jamie could practically feel Alan's eyes staring at the back of his head. "You remember my brother right…?"

"Ed? Of course! How the hell could I forget him?"

"Ed was…he's the whole reason I'm here right now ya know. In school he always protected me from bullies, stood up for me when I was in trouble with my parents. He was always there for me." Jamie's eyes softened as he turned his body away from Alan. "When the infection broke out…Edward was the reason I got halfway across town to the nearest evacuation zone. That plan went to shit once a horde showed up though…and then we just kept moving when he got the idea of going on the transit train. When we got there, there could've been thousands of zombies milling around outside. I was ready to piss my pants right there and give up. But Ed…a plan just came to him out of nowhere. He said he'd get their attention and I had to go get the transit started before he got back."

"Sounds like old Ed…" Jamie huffed. A gentle breeze blew through the broken window as the brunette's green/hazel eyes moved back up.

"Somehow I managed to start the damn thing, but it wasn't going to move for a few minutes. You know, that whole letting the passengers board time period." Alan nodded, despite Jamie not noticing him. "I looked outside and Ed, somehow still alive, started running towards the train. I went outside, not even thinking, to try and save him. I started shooting, but Ed shouted for me to get in the train. I didn't know why, until I looked up and saw a Tank raging through the horde. I didn't know what the hell to think, or even what to do. My brain just locked up, and I didn't budge. Ed screamed at me before he shoved me inside. He turned around, standing in the doorway and started blasting the zombies away until the Tank came close to him. I moved to help, but he shoved me back, throwing his phone in the seat behind me. He screamed at me 'call the first number in my contact list.' He walked forward as the doors closed, and I wasn't fast enough. The Tank punched him square in the chest against the train with enough force to shake the whole thing. I guess it stalled it for a second or something, because it didn't start moving. Somehow…Edward got up and ran away from the train, firing at the Tank and the horde. He got their attention, and the Tank punched him again, this time smashing him against the wall…" Alan remained silent, staring at his friend with a sympathetic and stunned look in his eyes. Jamie had never told Alan, or anyone, this story for that matter. "The train started to move…but I swear I saw my brother grinning as the horde came at him. The last thing I saw before heading into the tunnel…was the Tank slamming its fists into the ground…"

Alan's gaze was fixated on the floor. He had to move across the room to take a seat on the nearest desk. Jamie never told Alan how Edward was killed, and he respected it. Hell, you don't ask someone about their brother's death. Especially once you meet them they start crying their eyes out. Alan still remembered getting that phone call after his first encounter with a Smoker, and Jamie's panic, fearful voice saying to meet somewhere. After the tears went away, Alan was half worried that Jamie would end up being a burden to have around, but surprisingly, he saved Alan's ass a number of times. The bulky survivor huffed with a slight smirk before looking up at Jamie.

"Well…I guess I get it now…"

"What's that," Jamie asked, turning his head slightly towards Alan.

"Why you seem to throw yourself headlong into danger. Ed did it for you: the most important person in his life. He gave it all up to save you. And…I'm just guessing, but maybe you feel like you've gotta make his death worth something by throwing yourself in front of every Hunter, every claw, every massive fist, every tongue, every mouthful of puke, or whatever else is thrown at us." Jamie huffed with a smirk on his face, realizing Alan wasn't totally wrong. "Why're you thinking about this just now? You haven't thrown yourself in danger…last I checked." Silence filled the room. Alan stared at Jamie, waiting for a response. The bulky survivor looked to the ground, his eyes hard as he thought about the possibilities. A thought finally occurred to him. Alan turned his attention back to Jamie, "Is it Zoey…?" It was hardly noticeable, but Jamie twitched ever so slightly. "Oh come on, what's going on with her, it's not your fault."

"I know that," Jamie replied, his voice breaking. Alan narrowed his eyes worryingly. Was Jamie crying?

"Then what is it? I know it's gotta be about Zoey, so just tell me man." Jamie sighed, lowering his head to stare down at the desk he sat on. The brunette took a deep breath before turning to Alan, his eyes full of what Alan thought looked to be regret.

"My brother gave his life for mine right…and I survived, got a group together, and we've been sticking together for a month now right? His sacrifice meant something. What does it mean if I can't save Zoey?"

"Don't think about that. Doc said the thing _might_ be close to her spine, which means there's a chance it won't be. Plus he went down to try and get some info out of Elliot." Jamie sighed, standing up on his feet before turning to the door. Alan looked at his friend, waiting for a response to break the silence.

"I just don't want to lose anyone else close to me again…" Alan lowered his eyes as Jamie exited the room. That could also be a cause for Jamie throwing himself in danger all the time. Alan shook his head then left the room. A few quick moments later and he came back to pick up the flame thrower he left behind.

* * *

Nearly two hours later, and everything was ready. The OR was sterilized, and the surgeon team was ready. As they were getting putting the final touches on everything, Maria and Zoey were saying their last words to each other before the operation.

"Nervous," Maria asked softly.

"Well I'm going through a surgery to get some crazy ass device out of my back…I'm a bit nervous yes."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Plus I'll be watching from the observation thingy. I'll get to see your insides!"

"Bleh," Zoey grimaced mockingly. Maria giggled, causing Zoey to smile a bit. "Um…Maria, could you do me a favor?" The younger girl's brows raised in acknowledgement. "If something happens…and I don't make it…could you-,"

"No," Maria snapped.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" Maria rolled her eyes then rested her arms on the bed next to Zoey.

"Okay, tell me."

"Could you tell-,"

"NO!" Zoey groaned, glaring at Maria. "I'm not doing your dirty work! You tell Jamie how you feel!" The brunette lowered her eyes, a blush coming up on her cheeks. "But you don't have to worry. You'll live through the surgery and if you tell him your feelings you could just say you were drugged up. Since I know how much you kids love to play the game of denial."

"We're not in denial!" Maria rolled her eyes then leaned back in the chair.

"Whatever. You're both in denial about your feelings. Crazy girl."

"You're the crazy one," Zoey murmured as she crossed her arms. The doors slid open, causing both girls to look at the door. Doc walked in, wearing a white coat. "Playing dress up? I must be dying."

"Oh shut up. Believe it or not, but I actually miss the uniform. We're ready right now, and I suggest we start the surgery ASAP before the luck of the apocalypse catches up with us."

"Okay, but Doc, can you do me a favor?" Doc looked to Maria who shook her head. The blonde looked back up at Zoey then shrugged, pointing to Maria. "Oh come on, you're going to be whipped by a little girl?"

"Clearly you haven't been kicked in the shins by this little girl," Doc replied. "Besides, you'll be fine. We'll drug you up, you'll fall asleep, and when you wake up you'll be fine. Sore and incapable of moving, but otherwise fine."

"So I'll have to be out of the zombie killing game for awhile won't I," Zoey questioned. "I mean stitches…they're pretty bad right?"

"Oh please, we're not slicing your entire back apart. We're just making a small enough incision around the device to pull it out. The people working with Elliot on this thing said it shouldn't be too serious, and it shouldn't be attached to your spinal cord like I thought."

"Well that's good," Zoey muttered. "So can't you get Alan to just tear it off or something?"

"Um…it would still hurt like hell if he did. And you'd probably pass out regardless. So instead, we're going to drug you up and surgically remove the thing. So stop being nervous, you'll be fine." Doc walked up and held out Zoey's arm, piercing the skin with a small needle and pushed down on the plunger. Doc then wheeled up a tall canister with a mask attached to it. He placed it over Zoey's mouth, and pulled the strap over the back of her head. "Now, count backwards from ten."

"Does that really…work?"

"Just do it."

"Ten…nine…eight…s-seven…" Zoey's eyes flickered before they shut completely.

"Ding, ding, ding, and the winner is: Doc!" Maria stared at Doc with an expression that questioned her partner. Doc quickly cleared his throat, "Sorry…" The blonde waved to a group of men outside who helped him wheel Zoey's bed to the OR.

* * *

Alan looked over a guard's shoulder as the man zeroed in on a zombie with a how powered, military grade, sniper rifle. The man squeezed the trigger, sending a booming shot through the zombie's head which splattered like a rotten fruit.

"Oh," Alan grimaced, but laughed regardless, "That's nasty!"

"Oh yeah, you should see what this baby does to the…what'd you call it? Boomer?"

"The fat things that puke and explode?" The guard nodded. "Yeah, those are Boomers."

"Alright, I shot a Boomer right? And the thing exploded, like worse than usual somehow, and a chunk of it flew up and hit my buddy who was across the building to my right."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"Yeah," the man laughed. "He didn't know what the fuck was happening. He thought zombies learned how to chuck shit at him."

"Last thing we need: zombies throwing a Molotov at _us_."

"Awe hell, that'd be terrible."

Alan laughed before looking back over his shoulder. It wasn't a paranoid look, like a Hunter would come out of the shadows. He was worried about Zoey. The surgery started almost half an hour ago right? The surgery team told Alan it'd be a quick cut, take the thing out, stitch her back up, and that'd be it. Did it really take half an hour to do that? It only took Alan half a second to slice a zombie open. Alan thought for a moment before looking back out the window, reconsidering his impatience.

* * *

Maria walked into the sterilization room next to the OR where she was met by Doc. "Just making sure, but that's bad right," Maria asked.

"What, the device threatening to paralyze her permanently if we try to remove it? Yeah that's bad?" Doc shook his head, remembering the device clearly. He had no idea what the hell a red glass object was doing on the device.

"So…if we try and remove that thing then whatever is in that red part of it will release some type of nerve thingy that'll make Zoey a cripple?" Doc nodded once, looking just as distraught as Maria. "And now we realize there are really thick wire cable type things that are around her spine and in the muscles around it too." The black haired girl turned to the OR with a worried look.

"It'll be okay," Doc murmured, placing a hand on Maria's shoulder to try and calm her down. "Just…pray for Zoey or something. She'll be fine, I promise. But for now we've gotta think of a way to get that thing off Zoey safely. If we even touch it there's a chance we'll trip something and turn Zoey into a cripple. Go find Alan."

"For obvious reasons I take it?" Doc nodded once. "I'm on it." The black haired girl quickly rushed out of the OR and headed towards the upper levels.

* * *

Elliot Johnson sat in his prison in silence. The chamber he made was made to house his infected, or soon to become, test subjects. And as such it stunk, due to the fact they never put more effort into cleaning it aside from just removing the corpses. The blood lingered, waste was piled in the corner. He never really saw any need to clean it since his subjects would either end up dead or mindless. Elliot had no sense of time, but if he had to guess he could assume someone would be coming through that door any minute. As if cued, the door slid open and the bulky survivor, Alan, stormed in as the door shut.

"Hello there, what can I-," before Elliot could finish the sentence, Alan socked him across the face. The scientist tilted towards the side in his chair before Alan grabbed him and set him down on all four feet. Elliot grimaced before spitting with distaste. He looked up at Alan, who practically had waves of anger rolling off him. "So I can assume that Miss Zoey's operation wasn't a success."

"Actually we're not for sure yet," Alan replied calmly. Elliot opened his mouth, and a split second later was eating a five fingered sandwich. "You knew about that thing wiring itself around Zoey's spine you son of a bitch!"

"Oh right," Elliot exclaimed. "I'm so sorry it must've slipped my mind." Again, Alan punched the scientist across the face. "You know doing that isn't going to make me want to talk any faster right?"

"I figured as much, which is why I brought a friend." Alan walked over to the door and knocked on it twice. The metal door slid open, revealing another survivor standing in the doorway. "I think you remember Jamie right?"

"Ah yes, the brash brunette if I'm not mistaken." Jamie walked into the room, the door slamming behind him. The brunette's eyes showed pure fury as he focused intently on the smug scientist. "So what, you're going to give me a pretty speech on my humanity and talk about how much you love Zoey?"

"I thought about that," Jamie muttered menacingly. "But then I decided that my form of interrogation would be much more effective."

"Interrogation eh? What're you going to do? Take turns punching me in the face with this idiot?" Jamie walked forward, moving behind Elliot. The scientist looked over his shoulder curiously. Jamie cut the ropes that bound Elliot's wrists, slightly alarming the latter. "Strange…" Jamie walked around the table in the middle of the room. "Oh lord, you're not going to threaten me like in that horrible movie are you?"

"The Dark Knight," Alan questioned in outrage. "Oh I should beat the shit out of you now!"

"Shut up Alan," Jamie snapped. The brunette pulled out his combat knife then held it in front of Elliot, light shining off the blade. "Place your hand on the table," Jamie said, almost as a casual suggestion. Elliot scoffed then laid his right hand out on the table with a mocking smile on his face.

"Oh this is truly terrifying," Elliot mockingly boasted. Jamie raised his blade up, keeping his eyes fixated on the scientist. In the bat of an eye, the brunette threw his blade down into the table. Elliot's eyes glazed over and his body shook slightly with surprise. He looked down, seeing the knife imbedded in the table between his fingers. Elliot smirked then looked up at Jamie. "Alright, you had me scared for a moment. But don't threaten me if you're not good on your promises."

Jamie nodded, his eyes shifting over as he thought to himself, "Alright." The brunette pulled the knife out of the table then flipped it into the air. Elliot's smirk wasn't as smug as before, as he was slightly shaken up by Jamie's action. Despite this, he knew Jamie wouldn't do anything further and left his hand on the table. "Last chance to talk or else." Elliot remained silent, his smirk widening. "Can't say I'm disappointed."

Jamie raised his hand above his head and then stabbed it down. Elliot's eyes widened with horror before he screamed in pain. Alan's jaw fell slightly as he took a small step forward. He wasn't expecting Jamie to actually hurt the guy, at least, not with a blade. Jamie's eyes were still focused on Elliot, who looked down at his hand. The knife stabbed through the back of his hand, blood flowing out of the wound. Jamie twisted the blade, causing Elliot to scream more. The scientist moved his other hand to try and grab the knife, but Jamie quickly seized him by the wrist and slammed his arm on the table. Elliot winced before looking up into Jamie's rage filled eyes.

"Talk," Jamie seethed. Elliot grimaced before he spat in Jamie's face. The survivor released Elliot's wrist to wipe the spit away from his face before glaring with even more intensity at the scientist. "Big mistake."

Jamie pulled his knife out, causing Elliot to cry out in pain before the survivor dove across the table, tackling him to the ground. Alan quickly moved forward to stop the craziness. Jamie threw his arm up and then thrusted it downward, stabbing Elliot in his shoulder. The scientist screamed in agony before he was quickly silenced by Jamie punching him across the face. The raging brunette continued to punch Elliot over and over in the face, incidentally twisting his knife around in his shoulder. The beating stopped when Alan grabbed Jamie's arm and pried him off the scientist. Elliot groaned as the knife was pulled out of his shoulder and was left on the ground, bleeding and beaten.

"Jamie, calm down," Alan shouted. The larger survivor moved Jamie behind his back, "What's the matter with you?"

"We need to know how the hell to get that thing off as quickly as possible," Jamie hissed. "If we don't then Zoey is going to end up a cripple and I'm not going to let that happen!"

"There's nothing you can do," Elliot spat angrily. "I designed the device to be irremovable for obvious reasons! You can't remove it, even if I wanted you to."

Jamie moved to attack Elliot again, but was stopped by Alan. The two survivors stared at each other, both sets of eyes rivaling in intensity. Alan wanted to save Zoey just like Jamie, but if it meant killing a human being, no matter how twisted, then he wasn't going to allow it. "Jamie, I know you're pissed, but if you kill him then you'd be making the wrong choice, for you and Zoey."

"It's my choice to make," Jamie snapped.

"Don't make the choice for yourself! Make it for us, your team. Make it for Zoey. Don't kill this guy just because you're angry. If you do then our only hope to save Zoey goes down the drain."

The brunette scowled then handed Alan his knife. The buff survivor took the blade then nodded. Jamie walked towards Elliot then started beating away as Alan watched with a slight worried look for his friend in his eyes. He understood Jamie's drive, but murdering a human being, zombie apocalypse or not, would be something Jamie would regret for the rest of his life. Beating the living snot out of someone, totally different story in Alan's mind.

* * *

A small group of four black vans rolled through the streets of the dead city, causing several zombies to chase after them. The passengers inside the van paid no attention to the infected, either running them over or past them entirely. Inside each van was a heavily armed group of men in black uniforms with fully automatic weapons. In the first van, there were two different individuals. One was a short, very shaky man who was typing away on a laptop, occasionally looking up with a fearful glint in his eyes. Across from him was a woman with black hair pulled back into a tight ponytail with her bangs brushed neatly to the side. She wore sunglasses, hiding her eyes from view, a black suit with a white shirt under it, and a black khaki pants. Her legs were crossed as she faced the man across from her, typing away on his laptop.

"You know I could work better if you didn't stare at me," the man sputtered. The woman huffed, cracking a smirk of amusement. "I've almost hacked into Elliot's databases. You think he wouldn't have already deleted his research once the survivors broke loose?"

"Oh I don't think so. Regardless if he did or not there are backup files. The Director wants Elliot's research after having saw what the new infected he engineered was capable of." The shifty man narrowed his eyes skeptically. The van started slowing down as it rounded a corner, causing the two to look towards the driver. "Seems as if we're approaching our destination…get ready."

"I'm not the type of person for direct confrontation you know," the man snapped as he slammed his laptop shut.

"That's why you're taking up the rear," the woman stated as she stood up. "So the big boys can clear the path while you sit and cower." The man scowled but silently stood up, walking behind the woman. The mysterious woman stood calmly with several soldiers around her, despite the ravaging pounding and growls outside the van.

"Ma'am we're in position," a soldier called.

The woman nodded then opened the doors at the same time as the other three vans. The soldiers started firing at the horde of zombies that tried to claw their way forward. Bullets flew out with the repetitive, thunderous sound of dozens of automatic rifles going off at once. The firing stopped all around the same time, filling the streets with nothing but silence. On the ground were countless dead zombies, motionless with blood trailing out from beneath their bodies. The soldiers started to reload quickly as one lone zombie rushed forward in a mindless rage. The woman grabbed the top of the doorway then thrusted both of her feet forward, kicking the zombie in the face. The infected sprawled back and landed on its front. The beast turned around, showing its blood stained teeth before scrambling to its feet. The woman jumped down and walked forward slowly as the infected charged. She huffed before ducking under the zombie's flailing arm. She pulled out a curved knife, threw her shoulder into the zombie's chest, stabbing it in the stomach. The woman cried out as she threw the zombie over her shoulder, cracking its head open on the ground. The woman sighed lightly before cleaning the blade on the nearest corpse's shirt. She sheathed the knife back inside her suit before fixing her bangs. The soldiers quickly filed out and moved ahead of the woman while the man with the laptop approached and stuck next to her. The woman walked forward, followed by an extremely jumpy short man.

* * *

Jamie screamed as he laid the final punch on Elliot, throwing him to the ground in a bloodied heap. The brunette panted heavily, shaking his hand, which now had the deranged scientist's blood on it. Alan had been watching the whole time, keeping tabs to make sure Jamie didn't go too far. Elliot laughed weakly, which quickly broke out into a coughing fit.

"You think thrashing me will make a difference? I'm not going to tell you anything…"

"Why not? What do you have left to gain at this point? Even if you could get out of this room there are plenty of armed guards who are willing to shoot you on sight."

"And if I cooperate you'll just leave me here to die regardless."

"If you don't talk you're going to get a slow death," Jamie seethed. Elliot huffed, looking away from the furious survivor. "You're right: you're going to die no matter what you choose." Jamie reached back and pulled out a small bottle of pain pills. Elliot's eyes shifted over to the survivor who shook the bottle, rattling the pills around noisily. "You tell us how to save Zoey and you'll get your quick death." Elliot smirked and shook his head, looking away. "Would you rather me beat the living hell out of you? Or how about all those people outside you used and manipulated? Or how about we just leave you here and wait for starvation to kick in, or maybe a horde of zombies to come and tear you apart!" Elliot's eyes narrowed before moving back to Jamie. "You have no power right now, so you're acting like a child by deflecting our questions and avoiding the answers. You figure if I'm going to die anyway, I might as well screw with these survivors before I kick the bucket! Well you have one last choice to make: slow and painful or quick and easy."

Elliot lowered his gaze to the floor to ponder his choices. Alan meanwhile was staring at Jamie with wide eyes. This was a much darker Jamie than he'd ever seen before. Just yesterday the two of them could've been cornered with a horde of zombies rushing them and they'd be cracking jokes. Maybe the apocalypse was finally catching up with them.

"There's a small hole under the device," Elliot murmured. Jamie and Alan's eyes sparked with life. "It's small and difficult to get to. Inside the hole there's a switch. Press the switch and the device retracts everything that it stuck in Zoey's back and becomes little more than a heavy Frisbee."

"Go tell Doc," Jamie whispered. Alan nodded then quickly knocked on the door and exited the room. Jamie looked back at Elliot who glared up angrily at him. Jamie crossed his arms, pills still in hand. Despite his stern look, Jamie was actually surprised that his death threat worked.

* * *

Alan busted into the OR observation room, sweating and out of breath. "Did you guys find out anything," Maria questioned hastily.

"There's…some type of hole on the bottom of the device and inside that is a button or a switch," Alan replied.

"Doc," Maria exclaimed, pressing on the comm. button. "Alan says they found a way to get it off!"

Alan walked up and pressed his finger on the button, looking down at Doc through the window, "Elliot said that there's some type of hole on the bottom of the thing and there's a button or something that'll allow you to remove it safely."

"Great," Doc replied loudly, "now we just have to get something small enough to fit between her back and the device. No problem."

"Seriously?"

"No, that's a big problem." Doc held up his hands, wiggling his fingers around. "I don't have baby fingers." Alan rolled his head, groaning loudly with frustration.

"I ran through an entire hospital and you're giving me sarcastic remarks?"

"I can do it," Maria exclaimed. Alan turned to her as she held out her hand. "See, I have thin fingers!"

"You need to be sterilized first," Doc stated.

"Dude, that's sick."

"Alan, don't start with me."

"I'm on my way down," Maria said into the speaker before rushing for the door. After a few minutes, Maria walked into the OR, wearing the full medical getup. "I'm ready."

"Alright," Doc muttered. The two walked over towards the unconscious Zoey. Maria looked uneasily at the device which apparently had wires imbedded into Zoey's back. Doc moved his fingers around the sides of the device then gently lifted up. "I can't go too high or this thing'll tear her apart."

Maria nodded then pressed the back of her hand down on Zoey's back. She slowly snaked her hand forward, under the device. Maria bit her lower lip, frightened at the thought of accidently pushing up on the device. She gently started running her fingertips around the bottom of the mechanism. Finally, she felt something.

"I think I got it," Maria whispered, trying her hardest not to jump for joy.

Maria gently stuck her finger into the small hole, feeling a switch. She closed her eyes, praying for Zoey before she flipped the switch. The device hissed and snapped to life, causing Doc and Maria to jump with fright. The wires started to be pulled slowly out of Zoey's back, being swallowed up by the device. The mechanism continued whirling as it ate up the wires and needles it stuck into Zoey's back before it finally snapped again and remained motionless. All eyes were staring anxiously at the device as if it might explode. Finally, Doc and Maria lifted the device up away from Zoey, still staring at the thing. As soon as they realized it wasn't going to do anything, Maria hurled the device across the room, smashing it against the furthest wall in the back. Screws, glass, and other pieces of metal rained down as the device was completely destroyed. One of the doctors in charge of watching Zoey's vitals looked at the screen then back at the survivors.

"She's stable." The entire room erupted with an ecstatic cheer. Maria jumped up and down, hugging Doc who was laughing with relief. Alan cheered and threw his fist up in the air.

* * *

Jamie continued to stare at Elliot who hadn't moved an inch since Alan left. There was a knocking on the door, causing Jamie's eyes to shift. A guard walked in, handing him his radio. "I think it's for you." Jamie looked at the guard strangely before turning the device on.

"_JAMIE! It worked! Zoey is fine! It fucking worked!"_ Jamie's eyes lit up with excitement, the dark gaze he was giving Elliot moments ago completely washing away. He turned the radio off, silencing Alan's continuous screaming before handing the radio back to the guard.

"Th-thank you," Jamie replied.

The guard nodded before walking out the door, leaving it open for Jamie. The brunette looked over at Elliot who glared at him with fierce eyes. Jamie huffed then tossed the pills at the scientist's feet. The two stared at each other for a long moment before Jamie turned and ran off to go rejoin his group. The door shut, leaving Elliot alone to contemplate his eventual death.

* * *

Jamie ran through flights of stairs before reaching the ER halls where he was greeted by Alan and Maria. The two stopped him, allowing him to catch his breath. "You okay," Alan asked with a laugh. Jamie only nodded before looking up.

"Zoey's resting right now," Maria said. "Doc's with her to make sure that everything is going okay. He said once she woke up we could see her." Jamie smiled, nodding again as he breathed heavily with relief. Alan smiled, patting his friend on the back. The bulky survivor was relieved too, not just for Zoey's safety, but that the 'Evil Jamie,' was gone. Hopefully for good…

"Guys." The survivors snapped their heads over, seeing a smiling Doc looking at them. "She's awake."

"Alright," Maria shouted as she rushed forward. "Now I get to tell Zoey about how I saved her life!" Doc smiled until he was shoved out of the way by the sprinting Maria. The blonde stumbled before catching himself against a wall. Jamie and Alan laughed before walking at their own pace, followed by Doc towards Zoey's room.

* * *

Downstairs, in Elliot's prison, he stared at the pills for several minutes before walking towards them. He reached down and picked them up, staring at the bottle for a long, solemn moment before popping the cap off. As he poured a couple in his hand, he heard a sounds of struggled outside. Elliot snapped his head towards the door, hearing the guards outside groan as their guns went off before there was silence. The door opened, letting light flood in. Elliot raised his arm to shield his face until a figure silhouetted against the light shadowed over the scientist.

"Elliot Johnson," a feminine voice spoke. Said scientist's eyes widened as he looked forward, seeing a woman with black hair, black sunglasses, and entirely black attire with the exception of her white shirt under her suit. The woman stepped forward, accompanied by two soldiers.

"Oh thank goodness you've come," Elliot exclaimed. "These survivors appeared and they-," the woman thrusted her arm forward, seizing Elliot by the throat. The scientist gasped then coughed with the lack of air. "W-what're you doing?"

"We have the data," the short man accompanying the woman exclaimed, typing away on his laptop. "Oh, hello Elliot."

"Son of a-," Elliot groaned as the woman squeezed on his throat tighter. "Th-the Director…"

"Has labeled you a loose end," the woman finished, or rather informed. "While your new infected interests the Director, he has found you quite expendable. That's what we're here for: to take your research and deal with you appropriately." The woman raised her other hand then swatted Elliot across the face with incredible force. The scientist stumbled and spun around before stopping himself against a wall. The two soldiers grabbed him by the shoulders and held him in place. Elliot cried out as the wound he had in his shoulder, courtesy of Jamie, was pressed down on. The woman walked forward, pulling something out of her suit.

"Wh-what is that?"

"A new strain of the Green Flu," the woman replied, admiring the vial of thick, green, bubbling liquid. "It's the purest form of the virus we've been able to get our hands on."

"Y-you can't—the purest form? That's impossible! The virus mutates regularly. There is no 'purest' form of it!"

"It's what we've manufactured," the woman murmured as she approached Elliot. "The virus mutates right? Well so does _this_ virus, so long as it has a living host to mutate within." Elliot fought against the men who restrained him, but was far too weak to fight back. "We're running a series of tests on the virus. You're going to be one of the first subjects. Ironic isn't it?" Elliot's eyes widened as he watched the vial slowly tipping towards him. "You created new strains of the virus to try and control it by using countless living subjects. And now…" The virus poured out of the vial and onto the wound in Elliot's shoulder. The scientist screamed, writing around in pain. "You've become the latest test subject." The woman then jammed the vial into the wound, allowing the contents to pour into Elliot's body, causing him to squirm in agony. After the vial was empty, the woman nodded to the soldiers. They nodded back before knocking out Elliot. They moved out of the chambers and sealed the door behind them.

"We've gotten all the data and files Elliot had," the short man stated.

"Then let's leave before he wakes up." The mysterious group quickly walked towards the exit, leaving the corpses of the guards and other previously dead bodies on the ground.

Inside Elliot's cell, there was an agonizing scream followed by a thunderous noise of something heavy banging against metal.

* * *

"And that's how I saved your life this time," Maria exclaimed with a wide grin. Zoey nodded, a tired look on her face. The brunette looked over at Doc who was looking over the medical equipment.

"Doc, I'm alright," Zoey murmured softly.

"I know, but I don't trust this equipment," Doc snapped. "Who knows how long it's been going on unused?" Zoey rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she looked over at the other three survivors.

"So exactly how long will I be out of the fight, so to speak?"

"Not that long actually," Doc replied as he walked away from the medical equipment. "We didn't even have to cut you open, but the entrance wounds caused by that thing were pretty deep. We cleaned the holes and sealed them up, so your back may be sore from time to time, especially when you reach sixty years old." Zoey laughed, but then quickly changed into a groan. The survivors all leaned forward, their faces showing worry.

Zoey grinned and started giggling, "Gotcha!" The survivors all glared at her, causing Zoey to laugh all the more. Suddenly, Alan's radio started going off. The survivors looked at him as he lifted the handheld radio to his mouth.

"This is Alan."

"_Downstairs, there's something huge!"_ The survivors looked at each other, hearing an alarming amount of gunfire ringing out. _"We need backup, we need GUAH!"_ The person was screaming with fear, and then it twisted into agony before there was a loud, crunching noise.

"Alan, you get Zoey and Maria to the upper floors," Jamie ordered. "Doc, we're taking everyone else to fight this Tank."

"A Tank," Alan repeated. "They know what a Tank is now. A Tank isn't 'something huge' it's a Tank! This is probably that Lasher thing, or something new!"

"Regardless," Jamie replied slowly, "Take Maria, Zoey, the medical team, and a few of the other soldiers to the upper levels in case the Tank is bringing a horde with it."

"Does the medical team include me," Doc asked.

"No, I need your help." Doc sighed before heading outside where everyone was gathering around. "Arm the medical team too, but keep it light. Pistols, SMGs, stuff like that got it?"

"What about me?"

"You can use a bazooka if we had one," Jamie replied, placing his hand on Alan's shoulder. "Now go!"

* * *

A few doctors came started wheeling Zoey's bed down the halls, much to the brunette's frustration. Doctor's orders: she couldn't get up and walk just yet. Alan walked backwards, stopping at the end of the hall and started firing at a group of zombies that was coming at them while other doctors and Maria rushed past him. "Elevator," Alan shouted, "Now!" They got to the elevator all the way at the other end of the hall.

"I don't know if we'll all fit in there," a doctor shouted, pressing the up button frantically.

"Well the rest of us can take the stairs! Get Zoey and Maria on the elevator first!" The doors opened and the doctors wheeled the brunette in and then allowed Maria to rush inside. Alan fired an assault rifle until it clicked empty. He quickly dropped the empty clip then slammed a fresh one in as two doctors were taken down. "Damn it!"

A Smoker's tongue lashed out, wrapping around the armed guard next to Alan and then pulled him forward. The Smoker shrieked as the man got close before it and a few other zombies started tearing him apart. The horde was starting to overwhelm the group, killing more and more of Alan's little group.

"Come on," Maria shouted, "We got room for you Alan!" The bulky survivor looked back over his shoulder before turning back forward, seeing the last living person with him get tackled by a Jockey.

"Shit," Alan seethed before sprinting towards the elevator.

Everyone urged him on as he rushed forward with only a few more zombies chasing after him. Alan saw a few guns, two pistols, a shotgun, and a submachine gun, lying on the ground. As he ran, Alan kicked the guns forward, sliding them towards the elevator. Maria knelt down along with another doctor and grabbed the weapons, pulling them into the elevator. A zombie lunged forward, clawing at Alan's bare shoulder, causing him to wince and stumble. The now angry survivor turned around with a pistol in hand then fired a bullet through the zombie's head.

"Move it damn it," Maria screamed.

Alan quickly turned around again and sprinted for the elevator with a horde hot on his tail. The survivor made it into the elevator, turning around and spraying the horde with bullets as a doctor started pressing the 'close door' button frantically. The door eventually closed, and the elevator started moving up.

"That was a close one," Alan murmured.

"Can you get Jamie on the radio," Zoey asked. Alan pulled up the radio to his mouth then turned it on.

"Jamie, this is Alan, we got to the elevator, Zoey and Maria are safe along with four other doctors. Everyone else didn't make it. Did you find the Tank?"

"_Not yet,"_ Jamie's voice replied over the radio.

"BOOMER," Maria shrieked. Alan snapped his head up, seeing the fat zombie standing on top of the elevator. A fearful doctor raised a pistol up, aiming at the Boomer. "No don't!"

The doctor fired, blowing the zombie to chunks. Zoey and Maria screamed, the former using her blanket to cover her body while the latter dove under Zoey's bed. Alan moved as far as he could into a corner as Boomer bile rained down in the elevator. The remaining doctors were all covered in the heavy goo, moaning and groaning with disgust. Zoey quickly threw her blanket off and got herself off the bed on the same side as where Maria crawled out.

"Get back in bed," Alan ordered.

"Right, wear something that draws zombies to me like a frat boy to loose high school girls!" Alan opened his mouth, but remained silent.

"What the hell does someone say to that," Alan asked himself. In a split second, the elevator shook, the survivors screamed, and a massive, meaty arm exploded through the doors, crushing a doctor's entire torso between a fist and a wall. "FUCK!" Alan started unloading led into the arm, punching holes through the massive pillar of flesh and muscle. Suddenly, the Tank's arm was yanked out and the elevator started moving again. Alan panted heavily, his heart nearly jumping out of his throat, before he pulled the radio to his mouth again. "Uh Jamie…I get the feeling that what you're looking for _isn't_ a Tank."

"_Yeah…"_ Jamie and Doc backed up slowly with the trembling armed guards behind them. They were all staring at the horrifying figure before them, approaching slowly. "I get the feeling it's something else too…"

**

* * *

Ugh, so angsty this chapter. I mean Evil Jamie, come on. But hopefully it's enough of foreshadowing (more or less) to show that things are becoming much more serious in apocalypse land. But I enjoyed the whole Alan rushing to the elevator part. I got a whole, "The Sacrifice," comic feel to it lol. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter of mystery, angsty, horror, and suspense. Now I'm off to finalize Elliot's new form hehe. Until next chapter!**


	9. Men and Monsters

A horrifying figure towered over Jamie, Doc, and a vast majority of the remaining guards. The beast snarled, drool dripping from his mouth as it stepped into the light. It had the body structure of a Tank, but one of its arms wasn't nearly as big. The monster's right arm was enlarged, fingers pulled together and nails sharpened to the point that they resembled the claws of a Witch. Random boil-like bulges surrounded its body, some rumbling like they might pop. The survivors did nothing but back away, gapping in awe at the monstrosity in front of them.

"W-what the hell is that thing," one of the guards asked. The beast turned to the outspoken guard then unleashed a roar that nearly caused everyone to fall on their asses. The monster pulled its arm back, ready to strike as Doc noticed.

"Move!" Doc and Jamie dove back as the beast swung upward, its claw tearing through the ground. A few of the guards were either knocked back, or jumped away with fear. The beast's claw tore upward through the outspoken guard, tearing him in half. The other guards screamed with terror as their comrade's two halves fell to the floor, blood flooding out onto the floor.

"Fire, fire, FIRE!" The guards raised their weapons, all aiming at the massive beast.

"No don't-," Doc's urging fell of deaf ears as over a dozen armed guards fired a relentless wave of bullets.

The monster roared in anger and pain as it was forced to step backwards. The guards moved forward as the beast went backwards. Jamie and Doc wanted with anxiety. If there's something they both knew it's that things always got worse when something bad showed up. The beast roared, swinging its arm outward, slicing through many guards. The first line of men cried out, some only receiving fatal wounds, others being sliced in half entirely. The second and third rows all backed away, some full on sprinting away while others continued to fire a few bursts into the monster. The beast screamed, swinging again and again as it moved forward. More guards cried out as they were sliced and diced into pieces.

"Doc," Jamie urged, hoping the blonde had a plan.

"Run!" Jamie, Doc, and five guards turned and sprinted down the hall. The creature growled then followed after them with surprising haste.

* * *

Alan, Maria, Zoey, and three remaining doctors rode in silence inside an elevator. The doctors were disgusted, turning the opposite direction of the crushed corpse at the end of the elevator. Alan leaned against the wall with his gun tightly gripped in his hand, staring at the ceiling. A Boomer had just painted half of the elevator with its bile just moments ago. There was a chance that zombies could be raining down from above. Zoey was sitting in the corner with Maria next to her. Despite not lying in bed, Zoey still didn't want to do too much in case she still needed to recover. No one seemed to mind the silence. Suddenly, the elevator shook violently. Those who were standing up stumbled to keep their balance.

"What was that," one doctor asked. Alan looked at him and then shrugged. Without warning, something shot up out of the floor of the elevator. The doctor screamed with fight and pain as his leg was crushed into powder by a Tank's massive hand.

"You've gotta be kidding," Alan shouted as he moved forward to help. The doctor screamed but was quickly pulled through the floor and thrown down the elevator shaft. Alan stopped right at the edge of the new hole in the floor, staring at the Tank that held onto the bottom of the elevator. "Son of a bitch!" Alan aimed the barrel downward and started firing at the beast's face. The Tank screamed, using its hand to try and shield itself.

Maria and Zoey quickly got up then started wheeling the bed towards the hole. Alan stopped to reload, giving the Tank a moment to retaliate. Unfortunately for the beast, it was met with a bed to the face, courtesy of Maria and Zoey. The Tank screamed, stalled momentarily by the wheeled bed in its face. Alan slammed in a new clip and then started firing directly into the Tank's face. The monster didn't have time to shield itself, taking all of Alan's bullets to its face. The bullets eventually did their job, causing the Tank to plummet to release the elevator and plummet down the shaft in a massive, lifeless heap.

Alan fell back with a heavy and relieved sigh. Zoey and Maria looked at each other with a smile on their faces before looking up at Alan. "That was a persistent bastard," Alan stated. "Seriously, have we ever had Tanks that climb elevator shafts?"

"No, but then again we haven't been in many of those now have we," Maria asked sarcastically.

"Jamie," Alan said, pulling the radio to his mouth. "What's going on with you? Are you okay?"

"_NO I'M NOT OKAY! There's some new zombie chasing us and it's worse than the last one!"_

"Damn it, why do we always get this shitty luck," Alan screamed.

"_We can handle it! Just make sure Zoey and Maria are safe idiot!"_

* * *

Jamie turned, blazing his assault rifle into the beast's chest. The monster screamed then swung at Jamie. The brunette dove backwards, landing on his back before he quickly rolled backwards. The beast growled lowly, its blood red eyes focused in on the survivors.

"Got a plan boss," Doc asked as he back up with Jamie and the remaining guards.

"**Jaaaaamiee…"** Said survivor was struck with horror, and his face certainly showed it. The beast stepped forward, it's growling becoming louder. **"JAMIE!"**

"Alright, _now_ I'm freaked out," Jamie murmured.

The beast screamed and moved forward. Doc aimed his shotgun at the monster's face and pulled back on the trigger. The blast hit the beast in the face, causing it to bellow in pain and stumble back. The survivors wasted no time and rushed further back. The monster turned and screamed an inhuman shriek.

"**JAAAAAAAAAAAAMMIIEEEEEEEEEE!"**

The brunette sprinted ahead of everyone, being the most terrified at this point. The guards topped, turning shelves and operating beds on their sides and knelt behind them for cover. Jamie and Doc stopped, taking cover in the rear of the firing squad.

"When can zombies talk," Jamie whispered to Doc. Doc could tell by his tone that Jamie was shaken a bit.

"I might know who that zombie use to be," Doc murmured softly.

Thunderous footsteps causing everyone's eyes to snap forward. They waited, anxiety and fear building as the footsteps came forward slowly and became louder with each second. The beast turned the corner, bloody teeth clenched tightly. Without an order, everyone started firing at the monster. Bullets punched in and through the zombie's body. The beast stumbled back, trying to shield itself from the onslaught, but ended up with its back against the wall with bullets still hitting it. After a minute of gunfire, everyone's weapons clicked empty. The survivors quickly moved to reload. The zombie charged forward, slicing upward and cleaved a guard in half. The guard nearest to his now dead comrade fired a shotgun at the zombie's side, causing it to stumble to the side. As the survivor cocked his gun, the beast threw its arm outward, throwing the human on his back. The beast towered over the defenseless survivor with murderous intent. The other guards quickly moved to get more distance, not save their friend.

Doc quickly stood up, having one insane idea to save the guard, "ELLIOT!" The beast froze and snapped its head up. "Elliot Johnson!" The beast didn't move. It only kept its eyes fixated on Doc. The other survivors looked at Doc with wide and surprised eyes before turning to the beast.

"**Dooooooooooocc…"**

"That's right you ugly son of a bitch," Doc murmured. "You want payback?" Elliot growled, and then marched forward. "That's right, come right this way…" Doc leaned to Jamie and whispered sharply, "Run!" The two turned and sprinted down the hall. Elliot shrieked then stomped after them, ignoring the other survivors completely.

"How the hell did you know that was Elliot," Jamie asked as they rounded a corner.

"Well it was hard to tell with all those boils and shit covering his face, but I'm somewhat relieved I was right." Elliot screamed as he barreled around a corner, taking out a chunk of the wall. "Somewhat…"

"Okay, please tell me that we have a plan to deal with him now." The two survivors rounded another corner, Doc stumbling a bit before catching up to Jamie.

"I just confirmed that it was Elliot. How the hell does that equal a plan of action?"

"You're the one with the fucking PHD!" Doc opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off once he heard Elliot's inhuman roar behind them. "Run faster!" Jamie and Doc did so, lifting their knees up as they sprinted away from the rampaging beast.

* * *

On the roof, Alan, Zoey, Maria, and the remaining two doctors got to the roof safe and sound. "Is everyone okay," Alan asked.

"As well as we can be," Maria replied. The survivors' heads perked up as they heard the sound of a helicopter flying nearby.

"Oh god, we're saved," a doctor shouted, running out to the roof.

"Hold up," Alan called out, "What about Jamie and the others?"

"Screw them! We need to get out of here now!" The doctor ran out into the open, waving his hands and screaming at the helicopter above the roof.

The woman with black hair, wearing clothing that matched her hair along with a pair of sunglasses had her legs crossed, staring at the shifty man across from her. The man looked up at her with an agitated look, still typing furiously on the keyboard. "Can I help you?"

"Watch your tongue," the woman replied coolly. "I'm looking out the window anyway." The man scoffed, unconvinced before looking back at his computer. The woman pointed out the window, "There's a survivor on the roof thinking we're going to save him." The man looked up at the woman and then out the window. Sure enough, there was a doctor waving his arms above his head, screaming at them to help. The short man looked back at the woman who had a smug look on her face.

"What are we going to do about him?"

The woman turned to the soldier sitting next to her, "Kill him." The soldier nodded then stepped to the door.

"DOWN HERE! WE'RE NOT INFECTED! HELP US!"

Alan looked up, seeing the man aiming a rifle at the doctor. "Shit!" The large survivor grabbed Zoey by the arm and moved behind cover. Maria quickly followed them, noticing the armed man in the helicopter too.

Gunfire rang out. Bullets punched through the doctor's chest, blood spraying out. He took several bullets before falling to the ground with a thud. The last doctor stood out in the open, staring in horror as his colleague was murdered before his eyes.

The soldier switched his rifle to a semi-automatic, aimed carefully at the last survivor before putting a bullet cleanly through his head. His limp body hit the floor while Zoey and Maria stared in shock. Now fully enraged, Alan came out of cover and fired at the helicopter, ignoring the fact that he was shooting at a human being.

The chopper jerked to the side, throwing the armed soldier out of the vehicle. He screamed the entire way down before smacking into the rooftop in a bloody mess. The woman scowled angrily, grabbing what she could to keep straight while the short man did the same. As soon as the helicopter straightened out, the woman snapped her head to the roof.

"Come on," Alan shouted. "You wanna try shooting me! HUH FUCKERS?"

"Cocky fool isn't he," the woman questioned. Before the man could reply, much less sit back in his seat, the woman got up and headed towards the opened door. She stepped on the bar, the wind from the chopper blades blowing against her clothes and hair.

Alan blinked with confusion as he stared at the woman. In a bold move, the woman all in black jumped out of the helicopter. The survivor's eyes widened with shock as he watched the woman fall to the ground. Just before she hit, the woman rolled against the concrete roof. Alan quickly attempted to raise his weapon, but the woman stood up and whipped out a pistol with laser sights on it in the blink of an eye.

The two froze in place. Alan's eyes moved up to his forehead, seeing a dancing red dot set steadily. His eyes moved back to the motionless, statue-like woman in front of him. "Okay, look, what the hell was-," The woman pulled the trigger, firing her pistol at Alan.

* * *

Jamie and Doc unloaded bullets into Elliot, who was looking down the opposite direction for the survivors. The beast roared and rushed towards them. The two got to their feet then ran away. Doc turned just before rounding a corner and fired at a fire extinguisher, causing it to explode into Elliot's side. The beast stumbled, falling to its knee in pain.

Jamie and Doc cautiously raised their weapons, not taking the risk of it sneak-attacking them. Elliot twitched and shook, snarling in anger as blood oozed out of its wound. The two survivors looked at Elliot's new wound: an entire chunk of his side blown away completely. If the explosion, or wound, were any bigger then Elliot would've been split in half.

"Please tell me that thing isn't going to get up," Jamie whispered. Doc stared at the beast, noticing a strange bubbling in its shoulder.

"What's that," he asked, nodding at the beast. Jamie looked at the shoulder, examining the strange mutation for a moment. He remember stabbing Elliot in that shoulder with his knife. Knowing his luck: it was more than coincidence.

Suddenly, a black, thick gooey substance shot out of the mutation, hitting Doc's face. The blonde dropped his weapon and screamed in agony, tearing at the goo at his eyes. Jamie turned to Doc, but snapped his head around as soon as he heard Elliot's angry roar.

The wound opened up further, tearing the monster completely in half. Elliot's legs fell to the floor. A series of four strange looking limbs covered in slim and blood shot out. Elliot's face twisted in distortion, a few thin tentacles coming out of his mouth. The tentacles soon split Elliot's skull open, revealing a squid-like head with several razor sharp teeth inside its mouth, past the tentacles.

"What the fucking piss," Jamie shouted fearfully.

The beast moved towards Jamie, but roared once a series of bullets tore at its back. Behind Elliot were the soldiers helping Jamie and Doc before they lured the beast away. "Go! We'll hold it off!"

Normally, Jamie would argue, but Elliot lunged at the soldiers, flattening one like a bug before it attacked the fleeing soldiers. Plus he had to get the strange, gooey stuff off Doc's eyes.

The brunette turned to Doc who was tearing away furiously, screaming in pain as the goo burned like fire. "Doc, calm down! Let me help before you claw your face off!"

"Water! Wash it off!" Jamie grabbed Doc's arm, rushing down the hall to find a lot of water and to put as much distance between them and Elliot as possible.

* * *

Alan dove to the side once he saw the woman's finger twitch. Luckily for him he dodged a bullet. Literally. He rolled across the ground and aimed his rifle at her, only to realize she had her pistol primed for another headshot.

"Okay seriously, what the fu-," Again she fired.

Alan rolled forward a second later. Before he could even speak a single word, she fired. Alan rolled to the side, grabbing the barrel of his gun before flinging it at her. The woman gasped lightly. She quickly grabbed the gun before it hit her. She tossed the weapon over her shoulder and saw Alan charging her like a bull.

She jumped above the survivor, placing her heel in Alan's back and forcefully pushed him to the ground. Alan grunted as he slammed into the ground, but rolled over quickly grabbing his rifle that slowly fell into his hands. He aimed at the woman before she could fire at him, prompting her to stop.

"Okay, now if we're done dancing: put your damn gun down!" The woman turned her head, looking directly at Alan. In a blur, she lashed her arm out, throwing her pistol at Alan.

The survivor had no time to react before the pistol struck him across the face. Alan groaned, stumbling backwards before turning around. Somehow, the woman closed the distance between them. Alan moved to aim his gun, but the woman spun around, kicking the weapon out of his grasp. The woman quickly punched Alan across the face, and then in the ribcage. Alan groaned, stumbling back before using his arms to block the woman's straight punch. The survivor threw a high kick at the woman's head. The woman stepped back, watching as Alan's foot passed by her face. The survivor spun around before planting his foot back on the ground, facing the woman.

The woman smirked smugly, while Alan was in suppressed shock. In a flash, the woman jabbed Alan in the face, disorienting him for a moment. She struck him two more times across the face, once in the gut and then finished with a spin-kick to the chest. To her shock, Alan caught her by the ankle, grinning up at her. The survivor threw the woman's leg to the side, causing her to spin around. The woman jumped back as Alan tried punching her, and blocked the second. Alan tried to bring his massive fist down on the back of the woman's head, but she simply stepped back. Alan stumbled forward as his blow missed, but quickly rammed his shoulder into the woman's gut.

A cry of shock and pain escaped the woman's lips as Alan charged, running forward as quickly as he could. The woman growled, digging her heels into the ground as she wrapped her arms around Alan's body. To Alan's shock, she actually stopped him. The survivor's face turned red as he attempted to push harder, moving the woman slightly. She growled and then quickly kneed Alan in the stomach. Alan coughed as the blow struck, but didn't waver. The woman kneed him again, and again, and again, but still Alan wouldn't budge. Finally, she kneed him in the gut, then extended her leg into Alan's privates.

The survivor's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he groaned. His grip on the woman was loosened, giving her the opportunity she needed. First she grabbed his head and rammed his face into her knee. Alan cried out, stumbling backwards. The woman moved after him, punching him across the face two times. She spun around, kicking him in the gut. Alan doubled over, groaning in pain as he held his gut and fell to his knees. The woman scoffed before taking a step back. She spun around, throwing her foot up against the bottom of Alan's jaw. The survivor was thrown off the ground, off his feet. His back arched before he landed on his shoulder with a heavy thud.

The woman stepped back, dusting off her suit a bit before looking at the beaten survivor. "Had enough," she questioned.

Alan coughed a bit before spitting a wade of blood out of his mouth. He got up and looked at the woman who huffed. Alan's nose was bleeding, and some blood dribbled out from the corner of his mouth.

"That was a cheap shot by the way," Alan groaned. "Hitting me in the nuts? Really?" The woman's response was a quick spin kick. Alan jerked his head back, narrowly avoiding the strike, "Woo shit! Almost got me there."

The woman twitched forward, causing Alan to twitch. She smirked in satisfaction before actually moving forward. Alan raised his arms to shield himself, but the woman simply hooked her arm around both of his arms and pulled them down. She slammed her head into Alan's face, causing the survivor to groan and stumble back. The woman strode forward, punching Alan across one side of his face and then across the other. She swept her leg across the ground, kicking Alan's feet out from under him. The bulky survivor cried out as he landed on his side, groaning in pain. The woman took one step towards Alan before she saw a red dot appear on her stomach.

She looked at it for a moment, frozen in her tracks before looking up. Across the rooftop, Maria was knelt down on one knee with the woman's pistol aimed at its owner. "Oh this is rich," the woman murmured. "Is the little girl going to shoot me?"

"If I have to," Maria replied sharply. "Take one more step towards him and I'll do it." The woman smirked then moved one leg forward. Immediately, Maria aimed up, putting the red dot on the woman's forehead. Once again, the woman in black froze. "Go ahead: make my day bitch."

The woman opened her mouth to reply, but was suddenly tackled from the side. Zoey pushed the woman to the ground, pinning her to the ground. The two women snarled at each other, trying to overpower the other. Zoey got a quick punch across the woman's face. The woman screamed in rage, throwing Zoey off with all her might.

The woman quickly got up, staring at Zoey with fury written over her face. Another's scream caused the woman to look back over her shoulder. Alan came charging once again, both hands clasped together and raised high above his head. The woman raised both arms above her head, blocking Alan's strike, but just barely. She threw her arms up, throwing Alan off balance before she delivered a swift punch to the survivor's jaw. Alan stumbled backwards before he fell on his front.

Zoey once again tackled the woman, this time from behind. The two rolled across the rooftop, throwing swift punches and clawing each other as much as possible. The woman threw Zoey off once again. The brunette rolled across the ground, struggling to get up on all fours. The woman in black got up and rushed forward. Zoey looked up, seeing the crazy bitch coming at her and forced herself to get up to her feet. The brunette watched carefully as the woman threw a punch at him. Zoey stepped to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike and getting inside the woman's defenses. The brunette elbowed the woman in the gut with a forceful cry. The woman screamed out in pain, coughing a bit as she stepped back. Zoey strode forward, pulling her arm back before throwing her entire body into the next punch. Both combatants cried out as the strike landed a solid hit across the woman's jaw. Zoey stepped back, shaking her hand in pain as the woman stumbled back, stepping around in circles before falling to the ground.

The woman whipped her head up, glaring daggers at Zoey who panted heavily. The helicopter appeared from behind the building, floating on the ledge. _"Hurry it up,"_ a voice shouted over a megaphone.

"Fuck," the woman hissed. She rose to her feet, dusting herself off a bit before turning around and sprinting towards the helicopter.

"I got her," Maria shouted, aiming the pistol at the fleeing woman. The little girl fired a few rounds which buzzed by the woman.

The woman stepped on the rails of the helicopter as it started to pull away. She turned back, taking one last look at the survivors before the helicopter flew off into the distance.

"Who the hell was that," Alan groaned, rubbing his aching jaw.

"A badass bitch," Maria replied. "Great job getting your ass kicked by her by the way." Alan glared down at the little girl before staring back up at the sky.

* * *

The woman closed the helicopter door as she sat down, visibly seething in fury. The short man across from her smirked as he focused on his computer, "Have some trouble did we?" The woman snapped her head up. The man looked up at her. He didn't need to see her eyes to know that murderous look she was giving him. "It was a joke. Take it easy will you?"

"I will not hesitate to throw you out of this helicopter right now," the woman threatened.

"Don't be upset with me. Nobody told you to jump out of the helicopter and fight those survivors."

"They were shooting at us. Somebody had to stop them," the woman snapped. "Just get us back to HQ before you continue to piss me off. You can cower behind the Director for all I care." The man scoffed, going back to his typing as the woman sat in her brooding silence.

* * *

Jamie posted up next to the door while Doc washed the burning goo out of his eyes. "Son of a bitch!"

"Keep it down," Jamie hissed, whirling his head around. "We don't know where the fuck Elliot could be coming from!"

"This shit burns," Doc whispered back sharply.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to die!"

"Well I could be blind after this! What the fuck happened to Elliot anyway? After he blinded me it sounded like you were gonna shit yourself."

"He uh…mutated. He looks like a cross between a zombie, a squid, and a buffalo. Fuck, I don't know how to explain it! He just looks twice as fucking horrible as before."

Doc rubbed his hands over his face, sighing heavily as he got most of the goo out of his eyes. He blinked hard, rubbing his eyes with the back of his arm. "Shit, shit, shitty shit, shit!" Jamie turned to Doc who looked back at him. "That goo fucked up my eyes!"

"Are you blind," Jamie asked worryingly.

"No, but everything is blurry as hell! Damn it, I'm gonna need glasses or something!"

Jamie smirked, "This'll totally reinforce the 'Doc is an old man' joke." The blonde glared angrily at the brunette who looked out back in the halls. The coast was clear, so Jamie looked back at Doc. "Listen, we've gotta move. How bad is your sight?"

"I can differentiate a massive monster from a human if that's what you're asking," Doc replied.

"Good enough for me. Let's regroup with the others and make a plan of action or something."

"Right, lead it towards our friends, one of which has to recover from surgery."

"Zoey didn't go through surgery genius," Jamie snapped back. "We need to do something. There's no way the two of us together will kick this thing's ass. Who do you think we are: a Resident Evil duo or something? Because if we are you're Ashley from Resident Evil 4: the useless, ugly ass blonde."

"I have a gun, and I still know the general direction you're in smart ass," Doc seethed. "Can we get moving before-," The blonde was cut off when a wall exploded outward. Jamie and Doc covered their faces from the dust that flew out before gazing up at Elliot, or what was left of him, standing before them. A person's arm hung loosely from the beast's mouth as it's inhuman eyes darted back and forth between Jamie and Doc. "Plan of action fearless leader?"

"Running time!" Jamie started firing his magnum at the monster's face, causing it to scream and stagger back. Doc sprinted for the door, tumbling out with Jamie following after him shortly afterwards. The beast roared before following after them.

The entire wall to the room was destroyed in an instant as the infected beast chased after Jamie and Doc. The two survivors moved faster, getting to a break in the hallway. Jamie looked around quickly, looking for anything of value while trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly, something struck him. The brunette looked over, seeing an elevator which he pushed Doc into.

"H-hey what the hell!" Jamie pushed the survivor in before looking in the direction Elliot was coming from.

"Head to the floor where all our guns and shit are. There should be a flamethrower. Get that and head down to the lower floors."

"What the hell are you going to do," Doc questioned.

"I'm going to get that thing's attention and lure it up a few flights of stairs," Jamie replied. Doc stared blankly at his comrade.

"Seriously? You've done stupid shit, but this has to take the cake."

"That's what we you guys always say," Jamie joked before pressing the 26th button. "Get the flamethrower and go down the stairs until you find the floor I'm on. Stairs, not elevator. I don't want you skipping me."

"Try not to die," Doc said as the elevator doors started to close.

"Ditto," Jamie replied with a grin. As soon as the doors closed, Jamie hauled ass towards the stairs with the monster coming up right behind him.

The brunette spun around, firing his magnum into the monster's face, causing it to stop momentarily and roar in pain. Jamie threw the door open and sprinted up the stairs. The survivor tripped himself up a bit when the thunderous sound of a solid metal door being smashed like tin echoed behind him. He looked back just in time to see the doorway blown apart like a barrel of TNT went off behind it. Jamie fired a few rounds to get the beast's attention before running up the stairs.

The monster used its six limbs to move quickly up the stairs, throwing one of its newer appendages at Jamie. The tentacle smashed against Jamie's back, slamming the survivor against a wall. The brunette groaned, his face and body being pressed against solid brick before he cracked an eye open. He noticed a fire axe hanging on the wall and quickly grabbed it as he was pulled back. The infected beast raised Jamie up above its face, its mouth opening and breathing heavily. The beast's breath almost made Jamie throw up from the stench alone. The survivor quickly raised the fire axe above his head and then brought it down across the infected's face. The beast roared, dropping Jamie and falling to its side, clutching its bleeding wound in pain.

"Don't like that huh," Jamie asked loudly, a few strands of hair hanging in his face now.

The brunette strode forward, bringing the axe down on the zombie's arm. The beast roared as its limb was removed entirely from its body. Jamie screamed as he brought the axe down into the beast's back and then pulled it out. He raised the axe over his head and brought it down on the monster's head again.

The beast finally retaliated, striking Jamie across the stomach with its remaining arm. The brunette grunted as he stumbled back. Jamie flipped over the railing, but desperately reached out and caught the nearest bar. Jamie looked down, realizing that if he fell it would equal bad news. The survivor looked back up, seeing the beast stalking towards him. The monster towered over him, blood dripping down from the wounds in its face and drool oozing from its mouth.

The beast threw its head back and roared with all its might. Jamie looked down at the fire axe still in his hand before screaming as he swung his arm around, sticking the blade into the beast's shoulder. The monster screamed again, this time in pain, as Jamie pulled on the axe. The survivor groaned and growled, trying to pull himself back up over the railing while pulling the infected down. With one hand on the axe handle, another on the railing, and both feet pressed against the lower bars, Jamie screamed as he pulled back. The beast stumbled forward, being pulled forward by the blade in its body. Jamie cried out as he turned to the side, releasing the axe and letting the beast fly over the rails and down the flight of stairs.

The survivor panted heavily as the beast cried out all the way down until it hit with a loud crunching noise. Jamie let out a huge sigh of relief, leaning forward on the rails. He breathed heavily, letting his body recover before he moved over the railing.

A feral gurgle caused Jamie's head to perk up. The survivor whirled around, looking down the stairs as he saw the beast getting back up and moving up the stairs.

"You gotta be fucking kidding," Jamie shouted. "Give me a break for once…" The brunette turned and quickly started going up the stairs as fast as his ragged body would let him.

* * *

Doc stepped out of the elevator, snapping his pistol from side to side. With his sight impaired he had to be extra cautious. Whether or not it was permanent or temporary didn't matter right now. He had to find that damned flamethrower.

The blonde quickly rushed down the hall, towards the armory. Luckily it seemed that most of the zombies were already taken care of or moved on. Regardless, he didn't have to deal with anything it seemed.

Doc got to the armory and recklessly threw the door open, causing it to bang against the wall. The blonde immediately regretted this, hearing a panicked gasp within the dark room. A flash of lightning from outside illuminated the room, confirming Doc's fear of a Witch.

The blonde mouthed 'fuck' before looking around the armory. The Witch slowly rose up to its feet, growling angrily at the survivor who disturbed its peace. Doc saw a shotgun a stone's throw away and quickly made a break for it. The Witch also rushed forward, shrieking its ear piercing scream. Doc grabbed the shotgun and quickly spun around as the Witch attempted to strike him. Instead, the zombie slammed face-first into the wall, whining in a gnarled voice. Doc pressed the barrel forcefully against the back of the Witch's head and pulled the trigger, blowing its head off and a large hole in the wall as well. Doc watched as the zombie's headless, lifeless body slumped down to the floor, blood spurting out of its neck.

"FUCK," Doc exclaimed in relief.

The blonde quickly looked around, running his hand across the wall before coming across a light switch. He flipped it on, replacing the darkness with light. He quickly looked around at all the weapons, looking for the flamethrower. Doc ran up to all the weapons with squinted eyes and examined them each for a moment. He found a pair of grenade launchers, throwing both of their straps over his shoulders. Finally, he found the flamethrower. Placing the fuel case on his back and putting the actual gun in his hand, Doc rushed out of the armory.

* * *

Jamie threw open the door and rushed through the halls of the twenty third floor. "Fuck," the survivor wheezed breathlessly.

He turned around and waited for the pursuing beast to explode through the door. With a well placed headshot, the beast screamed and stumbled around, gripping the wound in pain. Jamie turned and ran as quickly as he possibly could down the hall.

Unfortunately, Jamie underestimated the beasts' speed as he was soon thrown through the air by a blow to the back. Jamie screamed as he flew through the air and landed heavily on gurney and rolled down the hall. The survivor quickly aimed his magnum down at his feet and fired at the beast while rolling down the hall. Bullet holes punched through the beast as it charged forward, barely slowing it down.

The gurney came to a sudden stop as it hit a pile of overturned medical supplies. Jamie was thrown from the bed, rolling across the ground after landing on his shoulder with a thud. The brunette rolled across the ground, groaning after he came to a stop.

He looked up, seeing the beast slowly coming at him down the halls. "What the hell does it take to stop you," Jamie asked as he slowly rose to his feet. The beast snarled as it approached, eyes boring through the survivor. "Well fuck. I always thought a Witch would be the death of me. Not some damned freak of nature. And I'm talking about when you were a human Elliot!" The beast stopped, grunted lowly at the name. Jamie blinked once with confusion, then again with disbelief. "Come on Elliot, there's gotta be some part of you left inside." A brief snort came from the monster. "Holy shit this is working," Jamie whispered to himself.

Unfortunately, this gave the infection a long enough period to force the mutated Elliot to charge forward. Jamie instinctively turned away and raised his arms to shield his face.

Suddenly, a loud 'whooshing' sound was heard, followed by the pained screams of the monster. Jamie opened his eyes then looked forward, seeing Doc with the flamethrower, torching the beast.

"Come on big guy," Doc shouted as he unleashed waves of fire. "Is that all you got?" The beast's entire body was covered in flames, along with nearly half of the hallway. "We don't need no water, let the mother fucker burn!" Jamie let out a breathless laugh at the sight.

The beast suddenly lashed out one of its limbs, striking the gun in Doc's hands. The weapon flew up and out of the survivor's grasp. The hose connecting the canister and the gun snapped with fuel leaking out at a rapid rate. Doc quickly pulled his arms out before throwing the canister forward, halfway between him and the monster. The blonde stepped back, stopping next to Jamie.

"Doc, I've never been so happy to see a man before in my life," Jamie said with a smirk. Doc turned his head to the brunette and cracked a smile. The blonde handed the brunette a grenade launcher.

"Only one shot each," Doc stated as he grabbed the second grenade launcher.

"Aim for the things that explode," Jamie ordered with a smile.

The flaming monster roared as it rushed forward at full speed. Doc and Jamie smiled and pulled the triggers at the same time. Two grenades flew out of the barrels and through the air, arching down the hallway. One struck at the monster's chest at the same time the other hit the fuel canister. A massive, fiery explosion went off, consuming the beast entirely and nearly filling the entire hallway. The force from the blast alone threw Jamie and Doc on their backs.

Jamie sat up while Doc coughed and rolled over. The brunette got up and helped the older survivor to his feet. "That was fucking sweet," Jamie stated.

"I'm just worried if we killed it or not," Doc coughed. The two survivors looked down, seeing a pile of fire burning wildly.

"Yeah, I'd say it's dead," Jamie replied. The two survivors flinched back as the flames started to spread rapidly.

"Running time," Doc asked.

"Hell yes!" The two survivors got up and rushed towards the elevator. "We'll get Zoey and the others on the roof and then we'll haul ass to the bottom floor!"

"Hopefully this whole place won't be up in flames by then," Doc shouted. Jamie got to the elevator, pressing the call button over and over. As soon as the chime went off, Jamie and Doc moved to the doors only to be greeted with guns in their faces.

Alan, Zoey, and Maria all gapped in shock before lowering their guns. "What the hell are you two doing," Maria asked.

"Leaving," Doc replied hastily, shoving Jamie in the elevator and hitting the down button.

The doors closed and the elevator started moving down. The survivors stood in silence, all eyes on the light shining under the floors they were passing. Jamie finally shifted his eyes to a battered Alan. He examined him up and down curiously for a moment.

"What the hell happened to you," Jamie asked.

"He got his ass kicked by a girl," Maria answered with a grin.

"Twice in one day? That's sad Alan." The bulky survivor shifted his annoyed eyes to his partner. Jamie stepped back with a teasing smile on his face.

"What about you," Zoey remarked. "You're sweating like a pig. And why is there black shit around Doc's eyes?"

"Long story," Doc snapped. "First let's get away from the burning skyscraper and out of this damn city before we have nice fireside chats."

"Damn straight," Maria agreed.

The survivors got to the bottom floor, heading towards the garage. Alan rushed ahead of everyone, heading towards a familiar black van. "Hello baby! Did you miss daddy?"

"You haven't even driven that damn thing for more than a day," Doc shouted.

"You want to argue this now," Maria questioned.

"Good point: saddle up and get us the fuck out of here Alan!"

The survivors all piled into the van and quickly sped out of the parking garage and into the streets. Jamie, Zoey, and Maria looked out of the back window, watching the singular flame from one of the upper floors spreading throughout the building.

Jamie sighed with relief as he fell on his back, throwing his arms out as far as possible. Zoey looked back at him before a smirk crossed her lips. The female survivor sighed in an over exaggerated manner and fell on top of Jamie. The brash brunette grunted as a breath of air flew out of his mouth.

"God don't do that," Jamie groaned. "I'm sore all over."

"You and me both," Zoey murmured. "I had to get involved in a cat-fight."

Jamie opened one eye, looking at the brunette lying over his body, "Was there jello or pudding involved?"

"You wish," Zoey replied, a smile coming across her lips.

"So you got your ass kicked by a girl," Doc asked Alan.

"I don't wanna talk about it." The blonde shrugged then looked out to the road ahead.

"If it helps I got some shit in my eyes and my sight might be impaired now." A moment of silence passed between the two.

"Meaning…?" Doc rolled his eyes before leaning back in his seat.

"Meaning I might have to wear glasses or contacts or some shit. Fucking Elliot…"

"What happened with him by the way," Alan asked, looking at Jamie through the rearview mirror. "Did he OD or what?"

"He became infected somehow," Jamie replied. "He became this massive mutated monster, killed all of those security guys that tried to help us out. We only killed him when Doc torched his ass with the flamethrower followed by two blasts from two separate grenade launchers."

"Anyone else find it fishy that we fight a crazy ninja-woman around the same time that Elliot becomes some new massive mutated monster," Maria asked.

"Can we just call him like triple M or something," Zoey questioned. "The whole 'massive mutated monster' is getting old already."

"Okay," Maria slowly let out, glaring at Zoey, "Anyone find it weird that a crazy ass ninja-girl who kicked the shit out of Alan shows up and Elliot turns into an M.M.M. around the same time?"

"I'm too tired to give a damn," Jamie muttered. "Let me sleep and then hit me with conspiracy theories all you want Maria."

The little girl snapped her head to the brunette, narrowing her eyes a bit, "I'm keeping you to that." Maria's tone made it obvious she was joking, which caused Jamie to laugh a little.

* * *

The short man continued to type while the woman tapped her knee in annoyance. The man's face suddenly lit up before he snapped his attention up to the woman. "The Director, he's calling!" The woman moved her head up slightly as the man held out the laptop to her. She took the computer and set it on her legs, looking at a man on screen staring at her.

The man had short, black hair with grey on the sides. His eyes were piercing dark brown, almost black. "I've received Elliot's research data. I'm pleased you two were able to recover it. What did you do with Elliot himself?"

"Disposed of him as you requested," the woman replied. "But there were a few survivors still there so we ended up infecting him to tie up loose ends for us."

"Very good," the Director hummed. "We've received new information on other survivor holdouts, and I have several new subjects that I want to have tested out. You know the standard procedure: pick up and drop off."

"Of course Director," the woman nodded. "We'll get to it immediately once you send us the coordinates."

"William will report all mission intel and info directly to me," the Director said as he started typing on a console to his right. "So don't think you can hide anything from me Diana."

"Of course not Director," the woman, Diana, replied. A window popped up, showing a red dot on a map. "Coordinates received Director. We'll deal with these survivors immediately."

"Good…see to it…" The Director's image vanished. Diana tossed the laptop back to William, who swiftly caught it. The man started typing away, looking up at his partner.

"You know he knows about those survivors you fought correct?"

"There's no way they could've killed Elliot," Diana snapped. "They'll be dead soon enough anyway. And if not, I doubt the Director will care if three survivors slip under the radar. Besides, we have more important matters to deal with at the moment."

"Of course…" Diana lowered her sunglasses, staring out into the dead, barren world with her light, icy blue eyes.

"The world is changing William. It's changing very quickly." The short man huffed before he started typing, ignoring Diana's very obvious statement. The black haired woman took one last long outside before pushing her sunglasses back up her nose.

**

* * *

First off: let me apologize for not updating sooner. Good god, how long has it been since I updated? I'm very, very sorry to everyone, but college was sort of beating me over the head these past few weeks. I had no time to write ANYTHING with the quizzes and tests and personal shit. I didn't even start this chapter until a few days ago. I'm very sorry for making you all wait for this chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed it regardless. Now all I need to do is know what I'm gonna do for the next chapter…  
Until next time**


	10. Old Days

**This will most likely end up being a dialogue heavy chapter, so I know it'll seem rushed. Just bare with me people! Also enjoy!**

* * *

The ride was slow and quiet. Alan would occasionally groan from his injuries from the mysterious woman and Doc would swear under his breath when his eyesight didn't improve. Maria leaned on Zoey's arm, sleeping soundly. Jamie sat across from Zoey, both brunettes looking out of the rear window in silence.

None of the survivors really knew what to say. Alan got his ass thoroughly beaten, which was a huge blow to his ego. The pseudo surgery Zoey had to go through hadn't done much, but she was still sore from the device that was imbedded in her back. Doc's non-improving eyesight put the doctor in a foul mood.

Jamie moved his eyes over to Zoey. She didn't notice him, so Jamie extended his leg out and poked her shin with his foot. Zoey turned her head to the grinning Jamie who waved at her. The brunette rolled her eyes, trying to suppress the amused smile on her face.

Alan rubbed her jaw and turned to Doc, "We need to pull over soon."

"That girl kicked your ass pretty hard eh," the blonde teased.

"No she didn't."

"Oh yes she did," Zoey snapped. Alan rolled his eyes before shaking his head.

"Okay, my ass got kicked by a girl. But a much more pressing issue: we're running low on gas." Doc leaned towards the driver's side and looked at the fuel gauge. Sure enough, they had less than a quarter tank left.

"Well, he's certainly right about that. Anyone see a gas station?"

"There's one up ahead," Alan answered. "Man, your eyes got fucked up eh?" Doc raised his middle finger in Alan's direction, not taking his eyes off the road. "Is it weird if I don't see any infected?"

"It means we're either catching a break for once, or there's horrible shit about to come," Jamie replied. "After everything we went through I'm willing to be hopeful for once."

"Well there's a college over there," Alan said after he turned his head to the left. "Maybe the zombies are all at school."

"We might be able to find supplies in there," Zoey whispered to Jamie, trying not to wake Maria. "I mean what guns do we have?"

"We have a pair of pistols," Jamie murmured. "Alan still has his machete, and I still have my knife." The two brunettes looked to the front of the vehicle, "Who feels like going back to school?"

"Hey, I did my time," Alan exclaimed. "I ain't going back!"

"You dropped out of college, and I spent more time in college than you did in high school," Doc snapped. "I don't think the zombies will steal our ride if we just leave the pump on to fill up the van."

"I know that. But Maria might jack my ride! She's done it before and I don't trust her." Said black haired girl sat up, stretching her arms above as she yawned loudly.

"I saved your life from that crazy ninja bitch," Maria said while yawning. "I'm so happy you trust me."

"Hey, I do trust you…just not with my ride." Alan turned the wheel, pulling the van into the gas station and next to the pump. "So, how're we gonna do this?"

"We'll split into two group, each one with one of the pistols. Alan and Doc, you two can fill the van up and search the gas station for anything while Zoey, Maria, and I search the college."

"Better hope there aren't any Tanks in there," Alan joked.

"Right, because we've NEVER killed a Tank without a gun," Jamie sarcastically stated with a quick roll of the eyes.

The back doors opened and the two brunettes and the youngest survivor jumped out. Alan and Doc unbuckled their seatbelts and got out of the van. Jamie, Zoey, and Maria walked across the road, looking around carefully for any type of movement. Alan pulled out the nozzle and started looking for where to put the gas.

"What the hell," the survivor murmured angrily.

As Alan continued his search for the gas tank, the brunettes and Maria made it to the college's parking lot. There were a few vehicles still parked throughout the lot, abandoned or left behind. There were also backpacks littered throughout the area, and a few stains of blood on the pavement. The scene was eerie, but the three survivors continued onward.

Jamie opened the door, shining his flashlight in all the darkened corners of the building that weren't illuminated by the covered sunlight. "See anything," Jamie whispered, leaning back to the two girls.

"Not yet, but that's because you're blocking our view," Maria hissed.

"Don't worry short-stuff," Zoey spoke in a normal tone of voice, "There's nothing worth seeing here."

The survivors moved in cautiously. Their eyes scanned the area carefully and their ears were listening for any sound. "HELLO," Maria shouted, causing Jamie and Zoey to jump with fright. Her voice bounced off the walls and all throughout the empty building. The little girl waited for a moment before tilting her head to look at the two brunettes. "Coast is clear."

"Warning next time," Jamie breathed out. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Right, zombies of all different shapes and sizes and now mutated monster don't give you heart attacks, little girls screaming randomly gives you heart attacks." Jamie rolled his eyes then followed Zoey further into the building.

* * *

Alan and Doc stood in silence, waiting for the van to fill up with gas. Alan looked at the meter as it ran up, with seemingly no end. "So is your sight getting any better?" Alan looked over to Doc who was leaning against the van. The blonde shook his head a bit, staring at the ground. "You think it'll get better?"

"Not sure," Doc murmured. "For all I know it could get worse with time." Alan's eye fell to the floor before looking back up at the meter. "You're awfully quiet. Did getting your ass kicked really affect you that badly?"

"No…just kind of…wondering about shit." Doc turned to Alan who looked back at him. "I mean first that Lasher thing, and then Elliot becoming that M.M.M. or whatever, and some crazy ass ninja-chick showing up out of nowhere. Somebody is screwing with the Green Flu."

"I gathered that much."

"No, but I mean maybe it's the same people who unleashed the virus in the States. Maybe they're like terrorists or something."

"Again: gathered that."

"No, but I mean who are these guys and what're their plans with the Green Flu? I mean what do they gain by creating a world of zombies? What if the government is in on this?"

"I'll be sure to set up a blog about it."

"This is serious Doc! We need to find out what the hell this is all about! If we can find who created this virus and take them down, maybe we can stop it from spreading to the rest of the world too!"

"Wishful thinking," Doc muttered. "We're not going to become heroes by uncovering the mystery and killing the bad guys. Half, if not the entire country has become filled with zombies. We have no idea about how it spreads. Maybe it's airborne, maybe it's in the food, maybe it's God's way of shoving a stick up the ass of humanity. Whether or not we kill the people behind this, that doesn't mean the infection will automatically stop spreading. For all we know it could've already taken over most of the world. We can kill, sure, we've proven that a hundred times over with these zombies. But does stopping a wide-spread infection sound like something five miss-matched survivors can do alone?"

Alan stared at Doc for a long moment. The blonde finally looked back down to the ground in silence. Alan looked back up at the meter once it had stopped. Forcefully, he yanked the nozzle out and put it back at the pump.

"I think I liked you better before you were blind." Doc scoffed then got into the van with Alan.

* * *

Zoey turned on the lights for the room they entered. Surprisingly, the room seemed untouched by the infection. Unlike the past three rooms the survivors entered, there was no blood on the walls, no bodies on the floor, no threatening messages written in blood. Zoey walked in, observing the room curiously as Maria and Jamie entered.

"Was this an art room," Maria asked.

"We're in the art wing, so yeah," Zoey answered, looking around curiously. "Wonder what the room was used for though."

"I would assume…figure drawing," Jamie replied. The two girls turned around, staring at the brunette for a moment as he got up on a small platform on wheels. "See, a model would stand up here, pose, and then the students would draw."

"How do you know that," Zoey asked with a curious smirk.

"I use to have a figure drawing class in college," Jamie said as he hopped down. "The room looked a lot like this one actually."

"So you'd draw models," Maria questioned.

"Not like models in a magazine. Just whoever would come in and pose for a couple of hours."

"Did you ever model for the class," Zoey inquired with her same curious smirk. Jamie laughed a bit, looking at the stage.

"Standing in front of a group of students for a couple of hours while they draw me naked? I think not."

"THE MODELS WERE NAKED," Maria shouted. Jamie looked at Maria then up at Zoey. The latter seemed unaffected, but Maria was gapping in awe. "What kind of school did you go to? The nasty…smutty…naked university of…porno?" Jamie pressed his lips together, trying his hardest not to laugh before patting Maria on her head.

"Nice try kiddo…" Jamie let out a stifled laugh as he looked over at Zoey. The brunette had her hand covering her mouth, trying her damndest not to explode with laughter. "Come on, we've got stuff to look for."

"_HELLO,"_ a voice echoed. The survivors stopped in their tracks. Two brunette's spun their heads around, looking at Maria.

"Wasn't me."

"_HELLO!"_

"Sounds like Alan actually," Zoey stated.

"Great minds think alike," Jamie whispered before heading towards the cafeteria.

"Hey, are you calling me an idiot," Maria snapped, chasing after Jamie. Zoey chuckled as she walked towards the cafeteria.

* * *

The survivors rejoined in the cafeteria, sitting down at a table to discuss their current situation. There were still some small bags of chips, which surprisingly hadn't gone stale yet, that the gang decided to snack on.

"So should we go over this place for supplies," Jamie asked.

"Might as well," Doc replied. "I doubt we'll find much at a college campus though besides some snack bags like these."

"Well maybe there's some medical supplies too," Zoey added hopefully. "And there are no zombies. It might be nice to just pick up some supplies and not worry about having to fend for our lives every two seconds. We could use a break don't ya think?"

"She's got a point," Alan stated, looking at the pessimistic doctor.

"Alright, fine. Let's go pillage and plunder an abandoned college for nothing." Doc quickly stood up from his chair and walked towards the nearest door. Zoey, Jamie, and Maria all watched the blonde for a moment before turning to Alan. The bulky survivor stared at his partners for a moment with wide eyes.

"What…?"

"Did you say something to him," Zoey snapped accusingly.

"What? No! He's just had a stick up his butt recently. Maybe it has something to do with the fact he's going blind maybe?"

"I'll go talk to him," Maria offered with a chipper tone as she jumped out of her chair and chased after Doc.

"I'll keep an eye on Maria to make sure she doesn't agitate Doc more than he already is." Alan stood up and followed Maria and Doc.

Jamie looked over at Zoey who looked back at him, "Guess that just leaves you and me."

"Shall we," Zoey asked with a smile. The two brunettes got up and walked out of the cafeteria. "So you went to college huh?"

"Yep, for a couple of semesters and then I dropped out." Jamie looked over at Zoey who tilted her head quizzically. "Bills were piling up for me and Ed so I got a job to help him pay them off. I was gonna go back after things were more settled, but well…"

"Zombies right?"

"My god, how'd you know," Jamie patronizingly replied. Zoey smirked and forcefully punched Jamie's arm. The brunette cringed a bit before rubbing his arm. "Ow, god you can hit. Are we sure Elliot's device thingy didn't make you super-human?"

"Positive. You're just a wimp. In fact, all you men seem to be sucking recently. I mean first I kicked all of your asses, and then that crazy ninja super-spy beat the crap out of Alan."

"We don't hit girls actually," Jamie smugly shot back. "Plus you had the unfair advantage of not knowing who you were attacking."

"Excuses, excuses. Just admit you got your ass handed to you by a girl."

"I haven't met a girl I couldn't beat before." Zoey stopped, giving Jamie a double-take. The brash brunette also stopped for a moment, going over his words in his head again. Sheepishly, Jamie turned around with an embarrassed smile, "That…didn't come out the way I wanted it to."

"I bet it didn't," Zoey replied, laughing at her friend's idiocy. Jamie shook his head as Zoey walked past him, patting his back sportingly. "Nice try Jamie."

"Yeah, yeah, bite me." Zoey turned around, bouncing lightly on her feet while giggling uncontrollably.

"Is that an invitation?" Jamie once again paused, a look of utter confusion on his face. Zoey continued to giggle. She turned around, but not before giving a quick wink to Jamie. The male brunette's jaw dropped, his level of confusion rising even higher than before.

"What…the hell is happening to the world…?" Jamie quickly moved to catch up with the now flirtatious Zoey.

The brunettes walked outside on campus grounds towards a different building. Silence filled the air between the two. It wasn't awkward between them, they were just remembering. The memories of their lives before the infection hit. Those moments seemed like a lifetime ago for both of them.

Zoey looked over to a nearby, vacant bench. An image of a couple sitting on that bench in the middle day came into her mind. Her face heated up whenever the couple turned into her and Jamie. Needless to say, Zoey turned away and pushed the image out of her mind.

"So," Zoey began. Jamie looked over at his fellow brunette curiously. "What were you majoring in when you were going to college?"

"Undecided. You?"

"I was trying to make it in film production," Zoey replied casually. "My dad bought me a bunch of horror movies to help give me inspiration, but I spent more time watching those movies rather than learning anything from them." Jamie hummed softly, staring at Zoey for a moment.

"You've…never mentioned your dad before." Zoey paused for a moment, looking up at the sky.

"Seriously," she asked with a confused, scrunched look on her face.

Jamie nodded once, "I just…well I figured that you didn't mention him for the same reason you didn't mention Bill, Francis, or Louis for a long time."

"Well…" Zoey brushed one of her bangs behind her ear as she and Jamie reached the door. The young man held the door open for the lady who walked in. "I'm not really sure what happened to them. I just remember getting a call at like four o' clock in the morning. My mom was screaming at me to get out and head towards the nearest evac point. At the time I obviously had no idea what the hell she was talking about until I turned on the TV.

"The news was obviously all about the zombie outbreak. People being eaten in the middle of the streets, a wide-spread infection that was running rampant throughout the north-eastern part of the United States. Obviously my first reaction was to make sure my mom was alright. Mom said that she and her boyfriend Kevin were with my dad, who's a police officer. They wanted to come and pick me up, but I told them I'd meet em half way. Mom obviously said no, but if zombie films have taught me _anything_ it's that you can't sit around in one spot for too long.

"So I hung up and grabbed whatever I could to defend myself with. Remember I told you I climbed down the fire escape of my dorm and that's when Bill found me?"

"Oh yeah, you told me that when we were in Sergeant Williams' base right?"

"Just before Williams asked us to go back out into the city," Zoey confirmed with a nod. "Well Bill found me and basically snapped at me to head to the evac zone with him. I texted my mom that I was heading to the City Hall Evacuation Post with a friend so she didn't have to pick me up. She called right after that, and we got into a bitch-fit about that. Bill was really pissed though, until he got an earful from my mom."

Zoey giggled a bit at the memory, "Bill looked like he was about to break the phone. Anyway, he handed the phone back to me, and I basically yelled loud enough for my dad to hear. So of course dad calls me, I talk to him and he's more rational than mom is half the time. They were less than a mile away from the evac post so I yelled at my dad until he agreed to go there, but they said that they were going to wait on me until I got there.

"Then of course Francis rolled by on his motorcycle, got yanked off by a Smoker, and he joined our 'happy' little band to go to the evac post. When we got there…" Zoey sighed heavily, causing Jamie to stop for a moment. "The place had been completely overrun with the infected. By that time though there weren't many zombies left, so we cleaned them out really quick. Bill said we did it to try and find anything that might point us in the general direction of any other evac stations. Then we were heading towards the nearest safe house, met Louis, stuck together since then, and you know how I got separated from them.

"At the evac station though, Bill was looking for any type of maps that marked any other outposts, Francis was looking for…well whatever Francis wanted. I'm guessing beer or weapons. I was trying to find some trace of my parents. I found my dad's patrol car. It was empty, nothing inside it. I didn't find any trace of them, which means they were forced to evacuate whenever the zombies showed up. I mean there weren't a lot of bodies that weren't infected, and I didn't find my parents. That means they're alive…somewhere."

Jamie gave a small smile, but Zoey's eyes remained fixated on the ground. The brash brunette reached out and placed his hand on Zoey's shoulder. She looked up at Jamie who was smiling at her, "I bet they're alive. If your father is as good with a gun as you are, then they're definitely safe."

This brought a smile to Zoey's face. She moved forward and hugged Jamie in joy and appreciation. "Thanks man," Zoey whispered.

"No problem girl," Jamie replied, placing an arm around Zoey's back. The female brunette rolled her eyes at her partner's lame attempt at a joke. The two stepped out of their embrace then continued to walk through the building. "So what were your parents like exactly?" Zoey groaned, running her hands through her hair. She was surprised how oily it was, but had more pressing concerns. "Hey, I told you all about my family. Now it's your turn."

"Alright fine." Zoey took in a deep breath, shaking her arms and head loose. Jamie tilted his head, giving a confused look to his partner.

"You're not getting ready to box a Boomer, you're just telling me about your family."

"Telling you about my family is about as nerve-racking as me walking through an active minefield." Zoey rolled her neck from side to side before letting out a huge sigh. "Alright, well, my parents got divorced just before I was about to go to middle school." Jamie cringed a bit. Zoey nodded in response, "Yeah, as if middle school wasn't shitty enough. They argued all the time, and I had to go back and forth between living with them about every month or so."

"How'd you get along with your parents?"

"I got along really great with my dad. He got me into learning self-defense when I was really young. When I was older he taught me how to use a gun, mostly pistols obviously. My mom and I had a bit of a…tenser relationship. She always wanted me to push myself and be all that I could be and more."

"I take it you didn't want to be all you could be and more right?"

Zoey pressed her lips together, nodding slowly, "Yep. My dad was just happy with whatever I wanted to do. I managed to barely get into this one college that was in the same city, but was really far away from where either parent lived. We decided that since I was old enough, and it'd be cheaper for everyone if I just lived in the dorms that the college provided. So I did. I visited my dad on Saturdays, and mom on Sundays. Church and all that 'fun' stuff."

"What about this Kevin guy your mom was dating?"

Zoey shrugged carelessly, "He's alright. I don't really know much about him. He didn't say a whole lot when mom and I hung out together. I mean you've got two women together, I understand a guy wanting to keep his mouth shut."

"Fair enough. So is your dad like super protective when it comes to you dating boys?" Zoey shrugged carelessly.

"I never had a boyfriend serious enough for me to introduce to my parents. In an unrelated note, I also haven't had a boyfriend I hated enough to introduce to my parents." Jamie rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"I bet your parents aren't that horrible. Can't be any worse than my uncle. Former conman, full time drifter, drops in once in a blue moon, doesn't even send a letter our way. But good lord, he can be short tempered when it comes to his nephew's happiness. He once broke a gumball machine just because Ed didn't get the color he wanted." Zoey suddenly stopped, covering her mouth as spit flew out in an attempt to stop her laughter. Jamie turned to Zoey, whose face was burning red, and grinned. "True story."

"Dude," Zoey blurted upon removing her hand from her mouth. "Your uncle sounds awesome!"

"For that yeah, but then the manager came out and threw a fit, so my uncle threw a fist." Zoey's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. "I mean if that's not unconditional love, then it's just a felony. That's how my mom defined Uncle Nick."

"I'd actually like to meet this guy sometime. He sounds like my type of guy." Jamie rolled his eyes then continued on down the hall.

"So what about you? You got any aunts or uncles?"

"Unfortunately not. My parents, like me, were only children. I sometimes think it might be better if I had a sibling sometimes…" Jamie shrugged, looking slightly to his side.

"It definitely can be a worthwhile experience. I know I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my bro." Zoey patted Jamie supportively on the back. Jamie let out a quick sigh before smiling at Zoey, "Well, this is fun."

"Totally," Zoey replied with a chuckle. "Stop talking about family?"

"Agreed." The two brunettes grabbed each other's hand and shook to seal the deal.

* * *

Doc rolled his eyes as he walked around the corner. "Dude, I swear that Tanks are different in size," Alan stated.

"No they're not. They're all enlarged monsters that can snap us in half with no effort," Doc snapped back. "I don't know how you think they come in different sizes."

"It's not noticeable!"

Maria, walking behind the two bickering 'adults,' sighed at the ridiculous conversation. She almost wished now that she didn't lighten up Doc's mood. It didn't take long for her to change Doc's mood, but then again: she did have a gift. Unfortunately, Doc being in a good mood meant that he was free to have an idiotic conversation with Alan.

"God you're stupid," Doc muttered, thinking he ended the conversation.

"You're _both_ idiots," Maria added, effectively ending the conversation. The two older survivors turned around with a baffled look. Maria's eye twitched in annoyance before she folded her arms across her chest. "You forgot I was here didn't you…?"

"No," the two spoke simultaneously, shifting their eyes to each other. Maria rolled her eyes, feeling a strong urge to kick both of them in their shins.

"So…who wants to bet that Jamie and Zoey will be making out before we have to leave this place," Doc asked. Maria's eyes flared with excitement. Doc and Alan looked to each other, raising their thumbs in approval, but made sure to hide it from Maria.

"You really think that they'd be making out right now," Maria questioned.

"If not now, then definitely soon." A huge grin plastered itself on Maria's face. Alan shot Doc a questioning stare. Doc shrugged, guessing Alan was wondering if Doc honestly believed that.

"God, I wish I had a camera now," Maria murmured.

"So anyway," Alan exclaimed, "I'm right, and Doc you're blonde so you're naturally stupid!"

"Right, that explains my PHD and why you were a cage fighter. Your logic is flawless buddy." Maria's grin vanished as she rolled her eyes, groaning at their ridiculous banter starting up once again.

* * *

Jamie opened the door to an office, letting light flood into the messy, dusty room. He flicked on the lights and entered with Zoey right behind him. Zoey walked up and sat down in the chair sitting in front of the desk. Jamie looked around for anything valuable, which was basically the excuse that he and Zoey used so that they wouldn't have to go anytime soon. They enjoyed not having to fight endless waves of zombies. Even if they had to go through an empty college, it was better than risking their lives.

"So what do you think about the whole new infected thing…?"

"Well," Jamie slammed a book shut then tossed it over his shoulder. "At first I thought it was just the Green Flu mutating and junk, like Doc thought. At that might've been true, but after that encounter with Elliot I'm wondering if it's not because people like him are screwing with the infection."

"If horror movies have taught me anything, it's that both are likely assumptions." Jamie cocked his head to the side, staring at Zoey with a taunting smirk. Her mouth widened into a smile, knowing her response was a dumb one to make. "What?"

"That helped _so_ much Zoey. Thanks a lot."

"No problemo," the brunette replied with a wink. "But if there are other people like Elliot messing with the infection…how wide spread do you think it would be?"

"I'm not sure. I mean we just got taken by surprise. The infection popped up out of nowhere. Other countries have to be readying for the infection. We also don't even know if the infection has gotten all over the country yet either. It just might be the eastern hemisphere. For all we know, the middle and western halves of the country might be fine."

"There's a lot of speculation there," Zoey pointed out, leaning forward onto the desk.

"I know. But speculating is all we can really do right?" Zoey lowered her eyes and nodded. "You gotta stay positive Zoey. The zombies can smell your doubt!" A smirk came across her face as her eyes flickered up to Jamie.

"Is that how they always manage to find us?"

Carelessly, Jamie shrugged, "It could be. Again: speculating is all we _can_ do at the moment remember?" A small laugh escaped Zoey's mouth before she leaned back again.

"I guess you're right." Jamie smiled before turning back to the bookshelf. "Finding anything on surviving the zombie apocalypse in there?"

"Nope. I'm starting to think this is all a big waste of time."

"Agreed," Zoey replied as she stood up. "Wanna go wait on the others?"

"Sure thing." The brunettes headed towards the door and left the room, turning off the lights as they left.

"So what was this girl like," Jamie asked. Zoey snapped her head around, confused by the question. Jamie looked at his fellow brunette, noting her perplexed expression. "The girl who kicked Alan's ass?"

"Oh her! She was…well she was like a human…female Albert Wesker." Jamie's eyes widened with shock. "She had a black trench coat, high heels, black pants, wore sunglasses, and was beating the shit out of the muscular protagonist."

"God you're a nerd," Jamie whispered. Zoey quickly punched the brash brunette's arm in response, causing him to cringe a bit in pain.

"The only difference is that she had black hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was really fast, but nothing super-human. I mean I took her down with a sneak-attack."

"You think I could take her?" Zoey's lips twisted as she put on a mockingly curious expression on.

"I dunno…she seemed to beat the crap out of Alan pretty thoroughly."

"Okay, Alan: Chris Redfield. Me: Leon Kennedy. Who would have a better chance against Wesker?"

"And you called me the nerd," Zoey replied with a taunting smirk on her face. Jamie opened his mouth to reply, but then realized he was just played. Zoey laughed, skipping ahead of Jamie as she headed for the door.

"Son of a bitch," Jamie muttered to himself. The brunette walked towards the door where Zoey waited on him. "Seriously though, what do you think?"

"I'm not sure to be honest. Even though I tackled her from the side she still managed to throw me off without much effort. I think she'd kick your ass pretty well too chief." Jamie rolled his eyes as he and Zoey headed towards a nearby bench. Zoey couldn't help but note that this was the bench she imagined herself and Jamie on awhile ago. Blood ran up to her cheeks as she sat next to Jamie.

"So you think Doc's still in a bad mood," Jamie asked.

"Knowing him…probably."

* * *

"SON OF A BITCH!" Doc sat down, holding his foot while Maria simply ignored him.

"That's what you get," Alan taunted, standing at a distance from the blonde. Doc had been agitated to the point where he tried kicking Alan, only to miss and stub his toe against a wall.

The trio was standing in a room, which was obviously a former military base of operations during the earlier stages of the infection. Old radios sat around, abandoned and now inoperable. Maps of the city hung on the walls and lied on the tables with various marks all over them. Maria was going through the maps, trying to see which of them the most recent one was. The only reason for so many maps was that they would get too many marks on them from other outposts being taken out, or infected moving forward. Eventually, it was hard enough to tell what was what on the maps, so they pitched them and got a new one. Maria was simply surprised how many maps there were for one city.

Alan whistled merrily to himself as he picked up the few guns that were littered around the command post. There were only a total of maybe four. Whether or not they still worked, or if they even had ammunition was beyond him. In Alan's mind it was better to have them and not need them rather than need them and not have them.

Doc pulled up the laptop resting on the desk he was sitting on and opened it. Surprisingly enough, it still had power. He decided to go through the list of survivors that had been stationed at the command post for safety's sake. There were easily over a hundred people, some of which had certain markers that define them. Red X's meant that the person was KIA, yellow circles meant that they were MIA, red circles meant that they were either enlisted or offered to help defend against the infected, and green circles meant that the survivors were alive, or they left the outpost with the military.

"Find anything Maria," Doc asked, rubbing his foot through his shoe.

"Why the hell do these guys need like a million maps for? This city isn't even that big!" The black haired girl shredded maps she already went through, throwing them behind her back. Maria grabbed something, but it wasn't a map. The young girl curiously looked at the piece of paper, which was a letter of some sort. It was heavily wrinkled and crumpled, hardly eligible. "I found something! It's like a letter or something." Alan moved towards Maria as she started reading the letter.

"What's it say," Alan asked.

"There are two more military outposts," Maria replied as she continued down the note. "Both of them should apparently still be backed by the military in case any straggling survivors come by. There are functional radios that can be used to call the military and they'll send transportation to come and get them."

"So…basically like that town we went to when you became infected," Alan asked.

"I guess so," Maria murmured. "It's better than nothing. Maybe it's on that laptop Doc's messing with."

"Uh guys…you've gotta see this…" Maria and Alan looked at each other for a moment before walking up towards Doc. The blonde's expression was one of complete and utter shock as he spun the screen to face the other two survivors.

Alan's eyes narrowed as he read the three profiles pulled up on the laptop, "Who're these guys, and why do we care?"

"Bill, Francis, and Louis," Doc stated, emphasizing each name loudly. "Zoey's friends before she joined up with us remember?" Alan and Maria's expressions switched in an instant to shock. "Find the charger for this damn laptop, we're taking this with us!" Doc hopped down to help Alan and Maria who were already turning things over to find the laptop charger.

* * *

Jamie and Zoey looked around the campus, making sure no stray zombies showed up out of nowhere. Zoey brushed one of her bangs out of her face and put it behind her ear. "So what's keeping the others," she finally asked.

"What am I psychic?"

"Just making conversation," Zoey replied, nudging Jamie with her elbow. "Maybe Alan and Doc got into an actual fight. Who do you think would win?"

"Doc," Jamie swiftly replied. Zoey tilted her head, questioning Jamie's answer. "Hey, if Doc get's angry enough he could beat anyone. Remember when he told us the story of how he almost killed the dude who slept with his wife?"

"True…I guess I've gotta give that to him." Zoey looked over at Jamie who was looking dead ahead. The female brunette lowered her head, staring at her feet.

Her mind was full of 'what-ifs' concerning the infection and other things. What of her family, or of Bill, Francis, and Louis? Were they encountering these crazy new infected, or was it just the luck of her and of the Z-Team? Zoey quickly shook her head in disbelief. Did she just really use the term 'Z-Team?'

"ZOEY!" The two brunettes looked up, seeing Maria sprinting towards them both. Behind her, Alan and Doc attempted to catch up, but the black haired girl was just too fast for either.

"What the hell is she holding," Jamie asked, squinting at the laptop in Maria's hands.

"Maybe she updated her Facebook," Zoey joked. Maria stopped just in front of the bench and took a moment to catch her breath. "Are you okay Maria? What's up?"

"You…you're not gonna believe it…" Maria spun the laptop around so the screen was facing Zoey. Her eyes widened and her jaw fell open. Jamie leaned towards Zoey to get a better look. His eyes also enlarged upon seeing the names of the three profiles that were pulled up. "They…they're alive and they came through here!"

Zoey reached out slowly and gently touched the screen with her fingertips. She couldn't find the words to fit her excitement. So instead, she screamed at the top of her lungs in joy. She bounced up, almost knocking Maria down as she screamed. She turned and hugged Jamie, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning and jumping on Alan to hug him too. Doc stood next to Maria, both survivors giving each other a smile. Zoey released Alan then almost tackled Doc as she hugged him too.

"THEY'RE ALIVE!"

"I don't remember her being this happy last time," Alan whispered to Jamie. The younger survivor however hardly noticed Alan. Though he was embarrassed to admit it, he couldn't help but think about the simple kiss on his cheek.

Zoey quickly fell to her knees to look at the laptop again to make sure she wasn't crazy. Doc knelt down next to Zoey, explaining the markings on each profile. Alan looked at them with a smile before he turned to Jamie. His mouth widened into a grin as he noticed Jamie's empty stare.

"My, aren't we love-struck?" Jamie shook his head and glared at Alan, blushing with embarrassment that Alan of all people noticed his expression. "Hey, at this rate she might actually kiss you when we find them."

"And if not, I get to kick you in the balls."

"Yeah," Alan agreed with a laugh. "Wait, what?"

"So they're alive," Zoey asked.

"As far as this database is concerned they are," Doc replied. "We can go to each of these outposts to see if anyone is still there, or if we can find any other clues to help. I mean we really didn't have a plan before this right?"

"Right, so when do we leave?"

"Right now if it's good with the fearless leader," Doc answered as he looked at Jamie. Zoey's head whirled around with a pleading, hopeful look on her face.

"Like I'm gonna say no," Jamie exclaimed. "Get the van fired up!"

"I pity the fool," Maria shouted, pumping her fist in the air before she ran towards the van.

"Hey, don't touch my baby," Alan screamed as he chased after Maria. Doc shook his head with a smile on his face before closing the laptop.

"I'll see what else I can find in the files on the way to the next base."

"Aren't military files like super encrypted or something," Jamie asked as he got off the bench. "How're you pulling up files like that so easily?"

"Well for starters: zombies can't use computers to find survivors so it'd be easier to just have the locations of the outposts on the desktop, as well as a full roster of personnel and survivors. Other things are obviously more encrypted, but we don't really need to know what the military is hiding at Area 51 now do we?"

"It was probably this shit," Jamie muttered as he, Zoey, and Doc walked towards the van. The survivors piled in and raced down the road towards the nearest military outpost.

* * *

Inside the campus, less than an hour later, a group of fully covered and heavily armed soldiers moved into the command post and started tearing the place up in search of something. Shortly behind the soldiers, Diana and Williams entered the room where they were greeted by the sergeant.

"Ma'am, we haven't been able to find the computer with all the files on it." Diana's lip curled a bit with disgust, causing the soldier in front of her to tremble a bit.

"That can't be," Williams murmured. "Whenever I sent the reactivation codes to this outpost it confirmed that all the data was on a single laptop."

"Well it's not here," Diana growled, turning her attention to the shorter man. "We're wasting time, and we have nothing to show for it. I'm sure the Director would be-,"

"Sir," a soldier called out. The sergeant, Williams, and Diana looked over at the soldier. "Our men in the security room say that they found recordings of a group of survivors moving through here recently." Diana removed her sunglasses, her piercing blue eyes glaring daggers at the soldier. Swiftly she turned around and headed towards the security room with Williams behind her.

Upon entering, the pair of soldiers there straightened up and saluted them both. Diana ignored them and headed towards the monitors to confirm the presence of survivors. Williams stood behind Diana, but close enough to see the monitors. Sure enough, they saw three survivors, one little girl, a bulky one with a goatee, and an older, blonde haired male. Diana's eyes widened in fury as she scowled.

"Well, well, this is certainly-," Williams was cut off when Diana's hand seized the short scientist by the throat. The soldiers jumped a bit at the woman's speed, but remained silent.

"Get out now," Diana roared. The soldiers didn't need to be told twice, and quickly exited the room. The black haired woman focused her eyes back on Williams before she lifted the man off the ground. "What's going through that shifty little mind of yours Williams? Were you planning on telling the Director of my 'failure?' Well, I promise you I'll deal with this situation." Diana released Williams, letting him fall to the ground in a heap as he desperately gasped for air. "And if you tell the Director before I get a chance to deal with this, I'll-," Diana was cut off by a ringing noise. Sighing in annoyance she reached into her coat and pulled out a cell phone and answered it. "Yes Director?"

"_Did you just threaten Williams dear Diana?"_ The black haired woman scowled angrily, turning as Williams was being escorted out by the two guards from earlier.

"How did you-,"

"_Williams has a wire. You know I don't like it when you leave loose ends lying about."_

"I don't know how they escaped. That virus you gave me I injected into Elliot's body. Maybe they got lucky and slipped by him."

"_Satellite images show that the hospital burned down, just as a van was speeding away. I don't believe that the building burning to the ground as survivors leave was luck."_ Diana's eyes hardened as she watched the cameras, seeing Williams giving orders to _her_ soldiers. _"Williams is currently going to be in charge of your operation."_

"Williams isn't a field man! That's why you sent me to get rid of any and all surv-,"

"_Well it's obvious that now you can't be relied on my dear. You take orders from Williams until further notice."_

"Sir that's not-,"

"_Not what?"_ Diana quickly stilled her tongue, clenching her jaw tightly. _"I tapped into the hospital's cameras, and I've determined there are five of them: Jamie, Doc, Maria, Alan, and Zoey. Take care of them Diana, and then we'll talk about you getting your unit back."_

A click was heard, followed by the dial tone. Diana slammed her phone shut, clenching her jaw and fists tightly. She screamed as she threw her leg up, putting her foot through the monitors. Sparks flew out from the damaged electronics before she pulled her leg back and slammed her heel on the ground.

Diana wouldn't stand for this. She wouldn't allow this group of misfits to get away with this. If it was the last thing she did, Diana vowed to kill these survivors at all costs.

**

* * *

So, let me apologize for not updating in almost two months. Finals sucked, and I've been updating my other stories before getting to this one. I wanted to get it up yesterday, but the family took up so much time. So consider this like a belated Christmas present. I'll try to get another chapter up before I have to go back to school, but after that, who knows. I'm going three days a week instead of two, but I'm only taking three classes, two of which are art related, so hopefully I'll have more free time this semester than I did last semester.**

**So, hope you enjoyed this chapter, happy holidays, and enjoy life everyone =)**


	11. Dead End

"Run, run, run, run, run," Alan shouted as he and Maria booked it down a sidewalk, being pursued by a horde of ravaging, angry zombies.

The bulky survivor turned around and started spraying the zombies with his AK-47. A horn honked at both of the survivors. Alan turned and ran to catch up with Maria who was already back in the SWAT van. Zoey crouched from the back and fired her hunting rifle over Alan's head to give him some cover from the horde. The shaved survivor dove forward into the van, letting his gun slide across to the front seat.

"He's in," Zoey shouted to Jamie, the current driver of the van. Doc and Zoey quickly pulled the doors shut as the van sped down the road, leaving the zombies to futilely pursue after them. Zoey sat on the flooring as she turned to Alan who was clinging desperately to a duffel bag. "How'd it go?"

Alan looked at the brunette, panting for a moment before nodding his head lightly, "Not bad actually." The former cage fighter sat up and unzipped the bag, revealing an alarming amount of candy. "We got Skittles, M&Ms, Three Musketeers-,"

"Musketeers," Jamie called out from the front seat. Alan carelessly tossed the candy bar over his shoulder. The brunette somehow managed to catch it and began to fumble with the wrapper.

"Doc, Maria and I also got you tons of glasses," Alan said, digging through the bag before pulling out a couple of glasses cases. "We didn't know how screwed up your vision was so we just grabbed a punch of different ones."

"With my luck none of those are probably right," Doc murmured before taking the bifocals from Alan.

Alan, Zoey, and Maria started digging through their bag of candy while Doc moved up and sat next to Jamie.

"So how do you feel about those glassed Doc?"

"I just hope they stay on my face," the blonde murmured as he tried on the first pair. "Sucks." Doc flung the glasses out the window with the flick of his wrist.

"If not then we could make another candy run," Jamie joked, looking over his shoulder to the other three survivors. "We've been driving for like a day straight. How close are we to the first military outpost?"

"How do you think these look," Doc asked as he turned to Jamie. The glasses the blonde wore were completely circular, and looked ridiculous on the older man. It was all Jamie could do not to laugh. Doc grumbled in agitation and threw them out the window.

"Hey wait, you could see out of those right?"

"Kind of, but the last thing I need is to give Alan or any of you monkeys anymore ammunition to insult me." Jamie rolled his eyes and shook his head. "These look good." Doc placed the glasses on his face before he turned to Jamie. "What about these?"

"Can you see out of them?"

"Yeah."

"They look great," Jamie replied. Doc groaned in irritation.

"You could've at least turned and pretended to look." The blonde looked around, trying to find anything that could reflect his face.

Maria walked up to the front seat, taking a bite out of a Snickers bar as she looked between Jamie and Doc. The blonde looked at the young girl, freezing for a moment when he saw her staring back at him. An awkward silence was heard. Finally, Doc pointed up to his glasses.

"What do you think?" Maria raised her thumb in approval before taking another bite of her candy bar. "You're not just saying that?" The black haired girl shook her head. "Can you use words please?"

"Just like the old days," Jamie murmured, shaking his head nostalgically.

Maria swallowed her bite of Snickers and rolled her eyes, "Your glasses look fine Doc. Stop worrying about your looks in the middle of the apocalypse."

"Well excuse me for trying to look good," Doc snapped. "But thank you for giving an opinion, unlike _some_ people."

"Maria, where's the laptop," Jamie asked.

"Back here. Wanna know how far we are?"

"Yes please." Maria turned and walked to the back of the van. Jamie moved his attention to Doc, "At least _some_ people are willing to answer my question instead of worrying about their looks."

Maria sat down, crossing her legs as she sat the laptop in front of her. Zoey sat next to the younger girl, knowing that she had no idea how to work the portable computer. The brunette clicked on the folder to open their destination.

"We're about another couple of hours away from the outpost," Zoey called out. Jamie raised his thumb in acknowledgement. Zoey looked back at the map in front of her and smiled a bit. "I'm on the way guys…just please wait for me."

* * *

Diana shook her foot in annoyance as she sat across from Williams. The scientist hadn't wiped the smug expression on his face since he got promoted above Diana. The short man finally looked up with a smile. "You think we can handle this next group of survivors Diana?"

"You think you could survive with my thumbs gouging out your eyes," Diana questioned venomously.

"Temper, temper. The Director wouldn't appreciate you doing something like that. If you follow my plan, not only will we get the necessary data from the next outpost and finish off these survivors, but you might even get the other group you failed to kill." Diana huffed angrily, rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses. "I just hope that the barbarian, the bitch, and the little girl don't prove to be too much of a challenge for you." In a flash, Diana's leg shot across the cabin, her heel pressing down hard against Williams' throat. As the short man gasped for air, Diana lowered her sunglasses to allow Williams to see her cold gaze.

"I can only take so much ridicule from you before I finally do something about it. I won't kill you, but I wonder how well you could still type without a pinkie don't you?" The black haired woman pulled her foot away and then crossed her legs again. Williams rubbed his throat, his breathing labored as he tried to catch wind. "How many do we have with us currently?"

"Infected or soldiers?"

"Both." Williams sneered as he straightened his back.

"We have over twenty troops on the ground, and we have four helicopters carrying fifty common infected a piece. And knowing our little experiment's success, I'd say there'd be more infected already at the base."

"What about special infected," Diana questioned.

"We're carrying none of them, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't expect some on the ground."

"Obviously…" Williams smiled as he looked back down at his screen and typed away.

* * *

As night began to descend, Maria fell asleep, lying her head in Zoey's lap. Alan was on the other side of the van, propped up against the wall and was also fast asleep. Jamie and Doc sat in the front, whispering so as not to wake the child or Maria. Zoey was going over all of the other survivors at the last outpost that survived or were MIA. She didn't recognize any of them, but it was just something to do.

Zoey looked back at the map, seeing that they were less than thirty minutes away from the outpost. Gently, the brunette shook Maria to wake her up. "Hey, we're almost there." Maria groaned as she began to stir. She lifted her head off Zoey's lap, allowing the former college student to move towards the front. "We're almost there. Just go up the next exit and hook it right Jamie."

"Can do. Wake up Alan would you?"

"Allow me," Doc offered, immediately getting out of his seat. Zoey watched the blonde walk away, allowing her to get into the passenger seat.

"Excited," Jamie asked.

"Only if they're at the base," Zoey replied. "If not, then I hope I can find some trace of them at least."

A loud, almost bear-like yawn was heard from the back of the van. Zoey and Jamie both turned back to see Alan walking around to help wake himself up. Jamie looked back and started moving up the exit ramp.

"Holy…" Zoey looked out of the windshield too, seeing the sight that left Jamie speechless. The other three survivors walked up towards the front and looked forward, setting their eyes on the military outpost.

The whole area was surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire, turrets set up on the rooftops of the buildings inside, as well as overturned vehicles, and in a few cases actual tanks.

"You think we could just ring the doorbell," Doc asked sarcastically. Jamie slowly moved the van forward, cruising slowly towards the around the walls.

The survivors looked all around for any place to enter through, but the whole place was secure. There were no open doors, no holes in the wall or anything. Finally, the van slowed to a stop at the front gate.

"Okay, how do we get in," Alan questioned. "Those doors are solid and we'd do more damage to the van than to the wall if we tried to smash our way through."

"_Who are you?"_ The survivors all jumped with fright, looking around for the source of the voice. _"Answer the damn question!"_

"Where are you," Maria asked loudly.

"_I'm the one asking the questions! Who the fuck are you people and how'd you find us?"_

"It's a big fucking military base on the side of the freeway," Alan exclaimed, "It's not that hard to find!"

"_Jeff, let them in,"_ a female voice snapped.

"_What? No! We don't even know who they are!"_ The survivors looked at one another, all with perplexed expressions.

"_I know who they are! Let them inside before those zombies show up!"_

An annoyed groan was heard over the speaker before the gates unlocked. Slowly, the heavy metal doors slid open and created a lot of noise. The distant cry of a zombie horde echoed over the area.

"Awe shit," Alan murmured.

The gates opened all the way, and Jamie wasted no time to slam on the gas and fly past the walls. The zombies flooded out of the woods across from the military base and rushed towards the wall. The gates skidded loudly as they closed together, shutting in the zombies' faces.

"_Head towards the main building,"_ the male voice stated. Jamie slowly cruised through the military base, past the overturned vehicles and chunks of debris.

"Well, there are definitely survivors here," Doc pointed out. Zoey's heartbeat had increased a bit with excitement.

Finally, the survivors rolled to a stop in front of what they presumed to be the central building. Jamie put the vehicle in park, waiting to see if someone would walk out or not. The cocking of a gun caused the survivors to turn their heads, seeing Alan readying a shotgun.

"What the hell are you doing," Jamie questioned.

"Last time we showed up to a military base they almost mugged us and took our guns. I'm not letting that happen again." All the survivors simultaneously groaned and rolled their eyes.

Jamie and Zoey hopped out of the sides of the van while Doc, Maria, and Alan circled around from the back. They all waited for a moment, and nothing happened. Alan rested his shotgun on his shoulder and put his free hand on his hip. After a moment, the front door opened. Alan aimed his shotgun as someone rushed out of the door. In a second, the figure sprung into the air and jumped on Jamie, throwing her arms and legs around his neck. The survivors stepped back in shock, giving confused stares at the hugging person.

"Jamie…it's you."

"M-Michelle," Jamie fearfully questioned. The blonde stepped back, resting her hands on the brunette's shoulders as she smiled and stared into his eyes. "I uh…h-hi."

"I can't believe you survived," Michelle breathed, once again hugging Jamie. The brash brunette had no idea what to think. Michelle was honestly the last person he expected to see all the way out here.

Doc, Alan, and Maria all slowly turned around to look at Zoey. The brunette's eyes were wide and her mouth slightly ajar. Out of all the people in the world that could've survived, and of all the people that they _could've_ ran into, it had to be Michelle.

"H-how did you get out here," Jamie asked. "I mean the base, Sergeant Williams' base was completely overrun with infected. N-nobody was alive, I mean how could've you-,"

"They tried to evacuate as quickly as possible from the base once the infected showed up." Michelle released Jamie, stepping back as she brushed her hair behind her ear. "It was completely unexpected. All of a sudden hundreds of zombies surrounded the base. They piled in as many people into the helicopters as they could to get us as far away as possible. After that…they were on their own. I got stuck with Jeff, a corporal, and he managed to get us far enough to find a vehicle. We found a few more survivors before we ended up here. What happened to you guys? You were supposed to come back with gas or radios or something right?"

"Y-yeah, we got all that stuff, and we got back. When we did everybody was either gone or dead. I…I had no idea that you made it though. I didn't know anybody made it."

Zoey stared at the two survivors, feeling a slight pang of jealousy. She looked up, seeing more survivors coming out of the building. There were two men in military colors and one woman, a man wearing a formal dress shirt, a heavyset man wearing a military helmet, clutching his pistol with shaking hands.

"Is this everyone," Alan asked, stepping into Zoey's line of sight of Michelle.

"Not everyone, but most of us," Michelle replied. The male soldier without the helmet walked forward and extended his hand out.

"Private Caleb Brown." Alan shook the soldier's hand.

"Hey there, nice to meet ya."

"Right back at you sir," Caleb said with a smile and nod. "This here is corporal Jeff Smith." The corporal grunted in response.

"I'm Rebecca," the female soldier said with a smile. "I've told Caleb that rank isn't important anymore considering the situation."

"I know ma'am. Old habits and all that ya know."

"Regardless," Rebecca continued, smiling at the survivors. "Welcome to our base: Outpost Dead End."

"Charming," the blonde murmured sarcastically. "You can call me Doc. This girl is Maria, and the other one is Zoey." The two girls gave a small wave to the survivors.

"I'm Jonathan," the heavyset man introduced, "But just call me Nathan to avoid confusion. The suit here is Jonathan too."

"How many others are there," Jamie asked Rebecca.

"Three more. There's a couple, er—well, former couple and an older gentlemen by the name of Mark." Zoey's eyes and heart fell to the floor. They weren't here either. It was another dead end for her. God how she hated the irony.

"Were there any other survivors that passed through here," Jamie asked as soon as he saw Zoey's depressed expression. "Three men: Bill, Francis, and Louis."

"Yeah, they came through a few days ago," Caleb replied. Zoey's face lit up as she looked up at the young Private. "They stopped by, restocked, helped us fend off some zombie bastards and then left. They thought staying here was a stupid idea or something."

"Staying in one spot for too long is stupid no matter what," Alan stated. "Did they say where they were heading?"

"They were heading towards the second military outpost," Rebecca replied. "We could find the coordinates in the base's database if you want."

"No, we have it already thank you," Jamie said, holding his hand up. "How long have you guys been stationed here?"

"Private Caleb, myself, and Nathan have been here since day one almost," Rebecca answered. "This base is next to impossible for anything, including those large bastards, to get in."

"If we're even going to have a chance of catching up we can't stay long," Zoey muttered, looking to her teammates.

"How about you let your friends speak for themselves," Michelle bitterly snapped. Zoey's eyes hardened as she glared angrily over at the blonde.

"Hey," Jamie whispered sharply to the blonde holding onto his arm. "We don't need this again alright?"

"Fine," Michelle sighed out, turning away from Zoey.

"I think we could stay for at least one night," Doc spoke. "I mean anything they have to offer has to be better than the cold metal floor of that van."

"We can take you to the barracks if you'd like," Rebecca offered. "Caleb here can escort you."

"It'd be no problem," the private added enthusiastically.

"Agreed," Maria murmured, rubbing her eye sleepily. The other survivors nodded to each other. Caleb moved forward, standing in front of the group.

"Follow me guys." The private walked forward and the others followed. Michelle stood back and watched Zoey with an agitated look on her face.

The walk was awkwardly silent. Jamie could sense the anger and sadness coming from Zoey. He didn't know whether to comfort her about Bill, Francis, and Louis not being here, or talk to her about the Michelle thing. Either seemed like the wrong choice for different reasons.

"So how long have you guys been moving as a group," Caleb asked.

"A couple of weeks," Alan replied, "Maybe more."

"I bet you guys have a lot of awesome stories about killing zombies right?"

"Yeah," Alan murmured, looking over at the silent brunettes.

"Here we are," Caleb announced, turning around with a large grin on his face. "The other three might be in here, so I'll come with you so nobody freaks out or anything." Caleb reached for the door, but stopped as soon as the knob turned.

A woman with long black hair and brown eyes walked out. She looked at Caleb and then to the survivors. A look of shock crossed the woman's face as her eyes met a particular survivor's. The others looked over at an astonished looking blonde.

"N-Nicole…?" Doc's group whirled their heads around to the mysterious woman. The woman wiped the shocked expression off her face before she grasped her hands together in front of her.

"Richard," she replied. The survivors turned around again, Zoey's whirlwind of emotions now replaced by shock that was shared by the whole group.

"What're you doing here," Doc asked.

"Surviving, same as you," Nicole replied.

"Fair enough." Silence filled the cool air. The survivors looked back and forth between the two grown adults, wondering what the hell was going on. "If you don't mind me and my friends would like to get some sleep."

"I'm so sorry," the woman said, sounding genuinely sincere as she stepped out of the way. The survivors looked to Doc, now simply growled at them. The group moved quickly towards the door. As Doc passed, Nicole looked at him, "Goodnight Richard."

"Night Nicole," Doc venomously replied. Caleb looked at Nicole for a moment before walking into the barracks.

"Doc, who was that," Jamie asked, on the verge of exploding into a million more questions.

"Nicole. Don't you listen?" The survivors were silent once again.

One of the doors in the hall opened up. A man with shaggy red hair and blue eyes walked out, looking down the hall at the new survivors and Caleb. Doc stopped, causing the rest to pause behind him. The two men stared at each other for a long moment. Once again, the survivors switched their gazes back and forth between Doc and the mysterious stranger. Maria stared at the ground, her face hardening as her mind scanned for an answer. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree with the realization.

She pointed up at Doc, almost accusingly, "SHE WAS THAT WOMAN YOU WERE GONNA MARRY!" Alan and the brunettes' heads snapped around to Doc, who looked more annoyed than ever.

"Now is _really_ not the time for this," the blonde muttered angrily.

"Wait," Alan whispered. "If she was the chick that Doc was supposed to…and there was a _former_ couple…then that means…OH DAMN!"

"Hank," Caleb spoke with a warning tone in his voice. "Don't cause any problems okay?"

"Hank," Jamie repeated with bewilderment. The redhead stepped to the side, keeping his eyes on Doc. Caleb walked first, standing in front of Hank as the other survivors passed. Doc and Hank glared angrily into the others' eyes as the former passed by.

"The rooms at the end of the hall are open for you guys," Caleb said. "There are three beds on the room to your left and two on your right."

"Thanks Caleb," Alan replied, sounding a bit distant as he tried to process everything. Doc opened the door to the right and slammed it just as quickly. "Oh come on! Doc somebody has to sleep in there!"

"Fuck. Off."

"I need some place to sleep too ya know!" Alan threw his arms up in the air, groaning in irritation. "Someone please talk to him. I want to get some sleep soon dang it."

"Doc, it's Zoey." The brunette knocked gently on the door. "Do you wanna talk about this?"

"What part of me slamming the door in your guys' faces says 'sure, I'd love to talk about this!' Hey, why don't we make tea while we share shit over story time!"

"I'm sure a lot of your stories would put us to sleep Doc," Alan joked. A loud banging was heard from the other side of the door, causing the survivors to jump a bit. Slowly, the two brunettes and young girl turned to Alan, giving him the deadliest stare they could. "Alright, so I chose a bad time to crack a joke. My bad."

"Doc, we've gotta talk about this sometime," Jamie spoke up. "Plus there's two beds in that room so you're going to have to let somebody in."

"Who'd want to," Alan muttered.

"Guys," Zoey said, "You all can go to bed. I'll wait Doc out."

"You sure," Jamie asked.

Zoey nodded and smiled, "I'm sure."

"Well I-," Jamie paused for a moment before turning around, seeing that Maria and Alan were already in the other room. The brunettes rolled their eyes and looked at each other. "If he doesn't let you in…well…I'd let you sleep in my bed."

Zoey's face heated up as she put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. "I bet you would." Jamie's face immediately turned beat red as he realized his terrible wording.

"I-I-I didn't mean that—I mean I'd stay up while you slept."

"Sure you did," Zoey teased, placing her hands on her hips, trying to plaster a look of seriousness on her face. "You get us out of this hellhole and then try making bold suggestions like that."

"Well I—wait what?" Zoey smiled before pushing Jamie back towards the other room. "Zoey…what did you mean by that?"

"Go to bed young one," Zoey said, giving one final shove before closing the door on Jamie. She walked back across the hall and knocked gently. "Doc, it's Zoey. I'm out here by myself and we need to talk." Silence was all that responded. Placing her hands on her hips, Zoey sighed in agitation. "I swear I'll start singing that 'I Love You,' Barney song." Another pause. Zoey waited for a moment before she heard the door click as Doc unlocked it. The brunette entered the room and closed the door behind her.

As soon as Zoey closed the door, Michelle walked down the hall and knocked on the door to Jamie's room. A few moments later, the brunette answered the door and gave a surprised look on his face. "Hey…do you want to talk?"

"Right now?" Michelle nodded, putting her hands behind her back. "I uh…I guess so yeah."

"Awesome." Michelle took Jamie's hand and walked down the hall. Jamie couldn't help but imagine why, but he had a feeling something bad was going to happen.

* * *

Williams continued to type, hacking into their next target's security systems. Diana was still irritated, staring out the window so she wouldn't have to look at the idiot in front of her. Finally, Williams hacked into the system, his face brightening in his success.

"Well?" The scientist looked up, seeing that Diana was already staring expectantly at him. Williams cleared his throat and straightened out his collar before looking back at his screen.

"I hacked into the military outpost's main security. I'm bringing up the camera feedback now to see how many survivors we're dealing with." Diana sighed impatiently, staring back out the window. She was about an hour away from her destination. She was going to make sure that nobody survived, even if she had to kill every last survivor herself. "Oh my…now this is interesting." Diana's blue eyes moved back to Williams. The scientist looked up, grinning widely at Diana. "It appears as though the five that escaped from Elliot's hospital are at Dead End."

"What?" Diana moved across the cabin and looked at the screen as Williams turned the computer to her. Sure enough, the screen showed the five survivors that escaped from the hospital, alive and at the Dead End outpost.

"Looking for a little payback," Williams mused.

"_Hello…this is M…"_ Williams and Diana looked at each other before the former opened up the incoming message to rid it of static. _"I was a high ranking official working for CEDA currently at the outpost Dead End. I know who you are."_

"Can you respond to him," Diana asked. Williams nodded before typing in a few keystrokes.

"Don't worry sir, we're on our way, and we'll take care of _all_ of you," Williams said.

"_That's exactly what I'm worried about. I know you're working for the Director, and I know what his plans are."_ Williams and Diana looked to each other nervously. _"I can help you. I can shut off all of Dead End's security defenses to let you all in. You wouldn't have to use any infected. Just come in and mop up everyone else up. It'll be easier and quicker than relying on the mindless infected you're undoubtedly planning to use. The survivors will let their guard down around other humans."_

"Well, that does sound appealing," Williams murmured, looking at Diana. The black haired woman stared at the laptop intently. While the man was talking, Williams started to scan CEDA's databases to see if the voice matched any official. Sure enough, a window popped up, showing the face of the man.

"Don't worry sir," Diana snapped as soon as she saw the man's profile. "We'll come in and make sure you're evacuated from the premises."

"_I don't care what happens to the others, just get me to safety!"_

"Of course sir," Diana replied. "We'll be there in about an hour. Although there's a new group of survivors that showed up at your outpost, and a few of them have seen my face. I need to make sure that they're asleep or out of the way if I'm going to help."

"_I can do that. Over and out."_ Diana stepped back to her seat and plopped down.

"Are we sure this is a smart idea," Williams asked. "The Director wants _any_ survivors dead. That includes CEDA officials."

"You honestly think I don't know that? I'll swoop in with our squads and kill every last living person in that base. It's just that if the base's security systems are lowered from the inside it'll make our job easier. You have my assurances that everyone will die." Diana opened her cell phone and dialed a few numbers. After a couple of rings she spoke; "It's Diana. Stop so that I can join the ground forces and share the plan." The black haired woman snapped her phone shut then walked to the door. As she opened it, a blast of wind rushed into the helicopter. She looked back at Williams, who was covering his face. "Move onto the next base! Use the infected the Director gave us on that base and we'll rendezvous there!"

"Roger!" Diana kicked a rope ladder out and started to climb down it. After a few moments, the helicopter started to move, allowing Williams to let the ladder fall out of the chopper and close the door. "This is Williams," the scientist spoke into the laptop. "All helicopters pull back for now. We're going to let Diana storm the base and then release the infected on her." Williams closed out the mike and opened a window that showed the contents of the infected his chopper carried. A sneer crossed his face as the choppers moved back, leaving Diana and her ground forces to head towards Dead End.

* * *

Zoey sat on the bed across from Doc's. The blonde was lying on his stomach with his head down in his pillow. Zoey placed her hands in her lap and sighed lightly, "You're going to have to talk about this eventually you know."

"Go to bed," Doc's muffled voice replied.

"Doc, come on. We don't want you to be like this. Maybe this is a chance for you and Nicole to make up. I mean did you talk to her after you beat that…what's his name…Hank dude half to death?"

"Go to bed Zoey."

"Doc…what're the chances of her surviving this whole disaster? I mean it's a sign. Everyone has lost someone in this apocalypse. Jamie lost his brother and Alan his best friend. Maria lost her family, and I don't know where my parents or the guys who took care of me before now are. You're the first person to find someone important to you, you have a chance to set things straight and you're just going to mope around in here? I mean even if you don't want to make up with her, you can at least bitch and scream at her. It might do you some good to get it off your chest."

Silence filled the room. Doc didn't move the slightest muscle. Zoey wondered for a moment if he fell asleep. Finally, a heavy sigh escaped Doc's lips as he got out of bed and headed for the door.

"Where are you going," Zoey asked.

"…Go to bed Zoey," Doc replied before shutting the door behind him. The brunette smiled before she took her pink jacket off to get ready for bed. Before she could even toss the jacket to the ground, a light knocking was heard on her door.

"Come in." The door opened and Alan poked his head in. "Hey, I think I got Doc to go talk to his ex-fiancé. Or I've just annoyed him to the point where he walked away."

"Cool. Hey, have you seen Jamie?" Zoey pulled her head back a bit in surprise.

"Uh…no. Why?"

"Well he came in about a half an hour ago when you said you'd talk to Doc. Well I got up to go to the bathroom, and he wasn't there. I thought he might've come here."

"I haven't seen him since he went to bed." Zoey stood up, staring at Alan with a worried look. "You think he's in trouble?"

"On a big ass base like this I don't think running around is such a great idea. Let's go look for him."

"I'll look for him," Zoey said. "You catch some Z's."

"Maria?" Zoey nodded in response, giving a slightly embarrassed smile. Alan opened the door a bit wider, showing Maria standing behind the door.

"Whoops…"

"Yeah, 'whoops' is right missy. Let's go look for your boyfriend already." Zoey sighed as she rolled her eyes before following Alan and Maria towards the exit.

* * *

Doc walked towards the main building, expecting to find Nicole. As he approached the front door, it opened and his ex stepped out. The two froze for a moment, an awkward air about them both.

"Richard…"

"Can we…talk?"

"If it's about what you did I don't want to talk about it," Nicole replied, walking past Doc. As she passed, something stopped her. Nicole gasped lightly, looking at her arm to see Doc holding her firmly.

"…Please can we talk…?" Nicole sighed then nodded. Doc released the woman and looked at her. Another silence filled the air. "You…you look good."

"Thanks." Nicole opened her mouth, likely to say the same thing, but stopped. "When did you start wearing glasses?" Doc's brow shot up in shock before he touched the eyeglasses on his face.

"Oh, uh, just recently I guess. There was this infected that…well mutated and shot this acid at a person's eyes." Nicole's eyes shot open in shock. "The bastard got a lucky shot."

"Are you alright," Nicole asked, stepping forward as she touched Doc's arm. "Do I need to take a look at your eyes?"

"I think I'm fine. It was a couple of days ago and my eyesight hasn't gotten any worse." Regardless of Doc's response, Nicole pulled out a small flashlight from her pocket and took Doc's glasses off. The blonde sighed a bit as Nicole started beaming Doc's eyes with light as she examined them. "How is it doctor?"

"Smart ass," Nicole murmured, a small smirk crossing her lips. "There are some tiny particles of…something in your eyes still. They have a med-bay on base where I can examine you."

"I tell you I'm fine," Doc insisted. Despite this, Nicole grabbed Doc's arm and started dragging him along. "Can I have my eyes back?" Nicole handed Doc's glasses back before he put them on his face. Nicole finally released the blonde's arm, allowing him to walk next to her. "So…what happened between you and Hank…?"

Nicole sighed heavily, stuffing her hands in her pockets, "He turned into a jackass. After the infection hit he was paranoid of everything and everyone. He believed there are carriers that spread the infection, and he thinks we're not immune and we can turn at any second, and a bunch of other superstitious crap."

"Of course being up close and personal with the virus beforehand says otherwise," Doc smugly stated.

"Pretty much," Nicole replied. "So what about your group? How'd you meet them?"

"Well I met Jamie and Alan first. A Tank was chasing me down the streets around the same time Jamie and Alan were being chased by a Tank. So, as I turn a corner, we meet, and the two Tanks, for whatever reason, started fighting each other."

"When Tanks collide?" Doc smiled and nodded. "That's…interesting. What about the little girl? I assume she's not immune right?"

"Maria is immune now. Jamie, Alan, and I found her in an apartment, cornered in a closet while the rest of the apartment was covered with blood and gore with a Witch sitting in the middle of it all."

"Oh god," Nicole murmured, placing her hand over her mouth. "Was it…her family?"

"That's what we think, but we haven't bothered to ask really. She didn't say anything for the longest time, and she obviously wasn't immune which meant that we had to take extra care of her. Not too long ago she got thrown up on by a Boomer, and became infected." Nicole's face lit up in alarm and confusion. "We went to the nearest CEDA facility and I spent hours trying to make a vaccine that killed the infection in its early stages. Luckily though, it worked and now she's immune to the Green Flu."

"Good god Richard," Nicole exclaimed. "That's…that's impressive."

"I do my best." Finally, the two got to the med-bay. Nicole opened the door and walked in, flipping the lights on. Doc walked in behind her, observing the room. To his shock, it was actually well equipped.

"Sit in that chair," Nicole said, pointing to a nearby stool. Doc walked over and sat down. Nicole started fishing through drawers before walking back to Doc. "And the other girl? Zoey?" Doc struggled to keep his eyes open as Nicole shined a light in his eyes yet again.

"We met in the forest, beating a bunch of infected with her bare hands. She had just lost her team, and she thought they were dead, but we later found out they were alive. We came here searching for them actually."

"Bill, Francis, and Louis," Nicole asked.

"That'd be them."

"They're nice guys," Nicole said, pulling the light away from Doc's eyes. "I'm going to get some vaccine to see if I can't get rid of that." The black haired woman walked towards a group of shelves. "They helped us fend off a giant wave of infected a few days ago and then they left. They said if they found any help that they'd come back for us. You could just wait it out and see if they come back."

"Well there's another outpost we'd like to go to and see if we can't find them." Nicole looked at a bottle of liquid before walking back to Doc.

"That would be the museum closer to state lines. It's a bit out of their way. They wanted to make a straight shot to the west, hearing that the infection was only on the eastern part of the country. Whether it's true or not I don't know, but the museum is definitely out of their way. They wanted to see if they could make radio contact first I think."

"But they were heading to the military er…museum outpost right?"

"Yeah. It would take them a couple of days to get there at least." Doc took the liquid that Nicole gave him and applied a few drops to each eye.

"Ah…shit that burns," Doc leaned forward, rubbing his eyes in pain.

"That just means it's doing its job," Nicole stated in a smug tone.

"Smart ass," Doc murmured with a smirk coming across his face. Nicole walked up to Doc and then crouched down to eyelevel with him. The blonde looked into her eyes curiously before he noted the pained look.

"I'm sorry Richard," Nicole whispered. Doc's eyes widened a bit in shock. Nicole placed her hands on Doc's knees as she lowered her head, unable to look Doc in the eyes. "I don't know why I did what I did. I…I guess I was just scared. I had my career to think about, and we were moving so fast." The woman's grip tightened on Doc's knees as her voice began to weaken. "I was stupid," she sobbed. "I wasn't thinking and…and I couldn't…I couldn't…"

Doc sighed, a look of anguish in his eyes. Slowly he reached up and placed his hands on top of Nicole's. The woman continued to sob uncontrollably. Doc moved one hand up under her chin and lifted her head up to look into her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Nicole murmured. "I-I know you must hate me for what I did a-and I don't blame you…" Nicole snapped her head away, biting her lower lip in an attempt to control herself.

"Niki…" The female doctor gasped lightly. Slowly, she turned to Doc who was smiling a bit. The blonde got out of his chair and knelt on the ground in front of Nicole. "I…I didn't hate you. I hated not knowing why you did what you did. Why you cheated on me instead of talking about what was wrong. And after I beat the crap out of Hank, why you didn't try to talk to me then too. I hated not knowing anything. I felt like it was my fault that you left me, like I did something wrong that drove you away." Nicole's sobbing stopped, but her cheeks were still stained with tears. "That's what I hated. Not you."

"Richard…" Doc squeezed Nicole's hands gently. The black haired woman smiled warmly and started to lean forward. "You're an incredibly forgiving man…"

"Don't tell Alan that," Doc whispered jokingly. The two started to lean forward, eyes starting to shut to allow themselves to be lost in their own private moment.

Their moment was shattered as something behind them banged and clattered loudly on the floor. Doc spun around while Nicole gasped loudly in shock. Standing at the door was an embarrassed, black haired girl who stared with wide eyes at a tray spinning around on the floor. Maria looked up at Doc and gave a nervous chuckle and embarrassed grin.

"Hey there."

"M-Maria! How long were you standing there?"

"Um…if I said 'when Nicole started apologizing' would you be mad?"

"YES I WOULD!"

"Then it's a good thing I'm totally _not_ going to say that," Maria exclaimed nervously. Doc growled angrily, but Nicole actually laughed a bit. The female doctor placed her hand on Doc's shoulder to help calm him down.

"What're you doing here anyway Maria," Doc asked.

"I was looking for Jamie. Alan and I woke up and he wasn't in his room or in your and Zoey's room. I saw lights on so I thought he might be in here. That was so sweet though! I knew behind all the rage and aggression and swear words that you were a big softy Doc!"

"Rage, aggression, and swear words," Nicole repeated, a smile on her face as she stared at Doc.

"I developed anger issues awhile back," Doc replied, knowing his excuse was weak.

"Come on Doc, you know I'm a sucker for romance," Maria exclaimed. "And that was possibly the sweetest sight I've ever witnessed! And believe me: I've seen a LOT of romance movies."

Doc stammered, trying to say something polite to get Maria to leave, but couldn't find the necessary or proper words to say. "Come on sweetie," Nicole said as she stood up and headed towards Maria. "I'll help you find Jamie."

"Thank you Misses Doc," Maria replied with a grin. Nicole smiled back at the little girl, placing her hand on Maria's back as they headed back out of the med-bay. Doc sighed to himself before he stood up and followed after the black haired pair.

* * *

Zoey was walking around the back of the base as Alan searched one of the empty warehouse-like buildings nearby. She couldn't help but wonder why in the world Jamie would run off like that. She walked behind a pair of buildings, looking down the alley between them and froze. She had found Jamie, but she also found a certain busty blonde he was locking lips with. Jamie looked up and jerked his head back, a look of horror on his face.

"Zoey!" The brunette simply gapped for a moment before she turned and ran the opposite direction. "Zoey wait!" Jamie moved around Michelle and chased after Zoey.

Alan exited the warehouse, a huge grin on his face as he looked for someone to share some exciting news with. He saw Zoey running in his direction, "Oh my god Zoey! You'll never guess what I found!" The brunette simply darted past Alan. The bulky survivor's smile faded, swearing he heard Zoey crying. He looked back in the direction Zoey came from just as Jamie rushed past him. "What the hell…?" Alan chased after the brunettes to find out what the hell was going on.

"Zoey please wait," Jamie shouted. Zoey stopped, clenching her fists tightly. Jamie finally had a chance to catch up with Zoey and immediately worked on catching his breath. "Zoey listen, that wasn't-," In a blur, Zoey spun around and smacked Jamie across the face.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" Jamie rubbed his cheek in pain as Zoey screamed at him.

"I deserved that," Jamie murmured.

"You deserve more!" Neither brunette realized Alan standing at a distance, listening to the argument.

"Zoey, that wasn't what you think it was."

"YOU WERE MAKING OUT WITH MICHELLE!" Alan's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he heard that.

"No! She came and got me, saying she wanted to talk! So we started walking and she was talking to me!"

"Oh what? She was just a poor innocent girl who had seen the horrors of the apocalypse and you'd think you'd just sweep in and play the big hero and comfort her?"

"No! She threw herself at me!"

"Your arms were around her!"

"On her to try and get her off," Jamie corrected. "Believe me I wasn't trying to get with Michelle! She told me she loves me okay!"

"And what'd you say?" Jamie gapped in surprise, confounded by the question.

"Are you seriously asking that? What the hell did you think I said?" Zoey crossed her arms, waiting for Jamie to answer. The brunette sighed, shaking his head, "I said she was a nice girl, and I liked her at one point but-,"

"So you didn't say no," Zoey snapped. At this point, Doc, Maria, and Nicole had followed the sound of screaming to the two brunettes.

"What the hell was I supposed to say? She was crying and opening up to me!"

"I doubt you're the first man she's opened herself for," Zoey hissed. Jamie let out a loud, exaggerated laugh of disbelief.

"Really? You're just going to assume she's a slut because of the way she looks?"

"You always have to play the hero don't you Jamie? You made some bullshit excuse for why we couldn't be together, and then you just move right on to Michelle."

"Bullshit excuse? WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE APOCALYPSE! How is that a bullshit excuse?"

"You know what Jamie: quit making excuses. You wanna be with Michelle, go right ahead, but don't expect me to be apart of this team anymore."

"Seriously, you're going to quit just because of this? A situation which you're doing nothing but JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS!"

"Oh you'd better believe I'd leave. I know where to go to find Bill, Francis, and Louis so I don't need you anymore."

"So we're expendable to you? Means to an end? Nothing compared to your old friends huh? Well FINE! You can head out on your own! But without me to save your sorry ass I doubt you'll make it more than five minutes!"

Zoey's face began to burn bright red and her eyes widened in rage. In a swift motion, Zoey punched Jamie across the face, knocking him to the ground in a heap. Alan, Doc, Maria, and Nicole all cringed at the sight. Zoey turned around a stormed away.

Maria immediately ran off after Zoey. Nicole, unsure of how well Zoey controlled her rage, followed after Maria. Doc and Alan moved towards Jamie who was slowly scraping himself off the ground. Both of them grabbed one of Jamie's arms and lifted him off the ground.

"I'm not going to say you didn't deserve that," Alan spoke, watching Zoey walk away. "But you did pretty much deserve that." Jamie jerked his arm out of Alan's hands.

"Shut up," Jamie murmured.

"What the hell was that all about," Doc asked.

"Jamie was apparently kissing Michelle," Alan replied. Doc blinked in shock, turning slowly to Jamie.

"So…you-,"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"I think you need to hear it though," Doc snapped. "You gave that woman a bullshit excuse why you two couldn't be together and you go around and make out with Michelle?"

"She threw herself on me and Zoey jumped to conclusions!"

"Look at this from Zoey's point of view. You two obviously like each other. A blind, retarded, monkey, or even Alan, could tell that. But you tell her no, and then turn around and make out with your hot, big breasted friend? Honestly, how does that look from an unbiased standpoint?" Jamie lowered his eyes to the ground in defeat. Alan stared at Jamie in surprise before looking at Doc.

"What the hell happened to you since you left," Alan asked the blonde. "When'd you become the couple's counselor?"

"Startling revelations do funny things to a guy. Zoey was being irrational, but you screaming at her, trying to defend yourself and Michelle just made it a hundred times worse." Jamie groaned, running his hands through his hair in frustration. Why were things always so damned complicated? "Obviously you're in a world of shit with her now. My advice: apologize later and don't try to brown nose her. She'll forgive you later, but not if you're being all pathetic and shit."

"Seriously, how the fuck did you get so smart in like half an hour," Alan questioned.

A gunshot was heard, causing the three guys to snap their heads up in alarm. Immediately, they all rushed towards the front of the base.

* * *

Zoey tried to keep herself from sobbing as she headed towards the barracks. The fact that Maria kept saying her name over and over didn't help the whirlwind of emotions she was feeling at the moment. Suddenly, something pulled on her pants. She stopped and sighed to herself, knowing that it was Maria.

"Zoey please," Maria hugged the older girl from behind. "Please don't leave." Zoey sniffed before turning around and kneeling down in front of Maria.

"I'm not going to Maria," Zoey murmured, brushing Maria's cheek. "I…I said some things I didn't mean back there." Maria hugged Zoey. The brunette wrapped her arms around Maria. Zoey noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked up, seeing Nicole approaching. The brunette released the little girl and wiped away the tears from her cheek. "You're Nicole right? Did Doc talk to you?"

"Richard? He and I talked things out, yes. What about you dear? Are you okay?"

"I…I've been better." Nicole smiled as she took a few more steps forward.

"You've got a hell of a punch Zoey. I think you hit harder than Richard." Zoey laughed a bit, trying her best to keep her happiness up and anger down. "Why do you all call him Doc?"

"He told us to call him that," Zoey replied. "We actually never knew his real name before you said it." The brunette wiped away another tear that rolled down her cheek. Nicole smiled reassuringly before placing her hands on Zoey's shoulders.

"It'll be alright sweetheart. We all say things we don't mean from time to time. That was just something that got very heated and out of control." For whatever reason, despite the fact she hardly knew this woman, Zoey hugged Nicole as tightly as she could and began sobbing on her shoulder. Maria looked up sadly as Zoey started sobbing before she hugged the brunette. "You should get some sleep Zoey. It'll help clear your head of this whole mess. You and Jamie both need to just take a deep breath and talk about this later alright?" Zoey nodded, her sobbing nearly stopped due to Nicole's advice. "Come on, let's go then."

Before the girls could move towards the barracks, a gunshot was heard, causing them to snap their heads around. Without a second thought, they ran towards the sound.

* * *

Diana and her ground troops moved towards the Dead End outpost, the gates already in sight. As they rolled up, the gates opened up to reveal and older man standing at the entrance with his hands behind his back. The vans rolled to a stop in front of the gates, blocked by the man in front of them. Diana got out of the van, slamming the door shut as she approached the man.

"Mark Wilbert I presume," Diana questioned. "The high ranking CEDA official that contacted us?"

"That's correct. And unless I'm mistaken, you're the mysterious Diana, the Director's right hand man. Excuse me; woman."

"That's right," Diana replied. "And in accordance with the Director of CEDA, any person believed to be infected with the Green Flu virus is to be killed on sight." Mark nodded and stepped to the side, holding his arm out to the base.

"They're all inside."

"Thank you Mr. Wilbert," Diana purred. In the blink of an eye, the woman reached into her coat and aimed her pistol straight at Mark's forehead. The man's eyes widened in horror as he began trembling in shock. "That will be all." Diana pulled the trigger, putting a bullet through the man's head and letting him drop to the ground in a lifeless heap. The assassin stepped to the side, letting the vans roll into the base.

Diana's eyes scanned the base, trying to see if any survivors were in the immediate area.

* * *

Behind a far off building, Alan, Doc, and Jamie all peaked around the corner to look at the front gates. "This isn't good," Doc whispered. "I don't think these guys are here to help us…"

"Wait…that's the bitch that kicked my ass," Alan exclaimed.

"Richard," a voice whispered. The boys turned around, seeing the girls coming up behind them. "What's going on?"

"One of the guys on the inside opened the gates for these people and they shot him," Doc replied.

"That's the bitch who kicked Alan's ass," Maria stated, pointing to the black haired assassin. "Last time we saw her, the guys with guns killed a doctor."

"We need to warn the others," Doc whispered.

"We can do that Richard," Nicole said.

"What about these guys," Jamie questioned.

"HEY BITCH!" The five current survivors snapped their heads forward, seeing Alan walking out into the open.

* * *

Diana turned her head to the bulky buffoon walking towards her with his hands up. Several soldiers already had their guns aimed at him, but Diana held her arm up for a 'hold fire.'

"You remember me right?"

"You're Alan," Diana replied. "The idiot who got his ass kicked by a woman."

"Care for a rematch?"

"I would, but I'm worried that Zoey might attack me from behind, or that Maria will have another gun aimed for me. Tell me, when do I get to meet Jamie and Doc hm?" Diana could tell the fact she used their names unnerved Alan.

A gunshot went off, causing the survivors and soldiers to jump. Diana merely turned her head to where the gunshot came from, seeing another group of survivors, fully armed and ready.

"Well, well, a total of thirteen survivors, if not more. I was hoping we could've been more discreet about this."

"Well when we get a message saying that someone is going to try and kill us, we're just a little bit on guard," Caleb spoke.

"You received a message," Diana questioned, lowering her sunglasses a bit. Just then, giant spotlights shot down from the sky. The survivors and soldiers covered their faces from the bright lights while Diana simply moved her head up as the sound of helicopter blades echoed throughout the base. "Williams you traitor…"

The crates that the choppers were carrying were dropped down on the far ends of the inside of the base walls.

"Two hundred infected," Diana whispered. "Focus on the infected first men!" The soldiers all aimed their guns in different directions. The crates opened, and zombies poured out into the base.

"Scatter," Rebecca shouted, shooting a few rounds at Diana's soldiers.

The survivors fell back while the soldiers fired back at them and advanced. Diana simply stood where she was, staring up at the helicopters above. One helicopter, the one she recognized as Williams' emitted a loud, blaring noise that would likely attract any infected within ten miles.

The helicopter flew off, leaving Diana and her soldiers to die with the survivors. "Ma'am, we have to fall back," one soldier spoke. Diana simply moved her arm back and fired a bullet through the man's head without looking.

"I'm not leaving until I kill those survivors. Williams has betrayed us. Betrayed the Director. You want to prove yourselves, then make it out of this mess alive! Retreating would be pointless since any and all infected nearby will be charging towards this place. Move out! Kill anything that moves!" The soldiers nervously charged into the base with Diana right behind them.

"I'll make sure you pay for this Williams…mark my words I will kill you."

* * *

In the helicopter, Williams smiled to himself as he watched the infected pour into Dead End. His phone started ringing and he answered it.

"_Williams, sir, do you want to drop the last crate?"_

"Do so captain," Williams cooed.

The helicopter lowered down to the ground, dropping the crate down. Whatever was inside was banging and bashing on the metal as hard as they could, trying to break out. Finally, the door was smashed open, and nearly a dozen Lashers jumped out and headed towards the Dead End.

**

* * *

Well…this was incredibly fun to write. As I told you guys, lots of drama in this chapter. Next chapter will have lots of ACTION! And of course some drama. But the next chapter will be the end of their time at Dead End, and will give some insight as to the motives of Diana and the Director. So, expect the next chapter in a few days maybe, if my dad goes back to work next week. He's kind of been a pain in the ass the past few days. So…I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that there wasn't too much drama.  
Also there will be more insight to the whole Jamie and Michelle making out thing next chapter. But that doesn't mean it hasn't put a bit of a strain on Jamie and Zoey's relationship. There will just be some more insight and back story to the seemingly random occurrence.**


	12. Rest in Peace

Diana walked through a group of zombies, blowing holes in their faces with a steady aim as she moved through the base. The raging infected proved to be little more than a distraction for her. Did Williams really think that these zombies would prove a problem for her? Knowing the shifty bastard as well as she did, he had to have something up his sleeve.

In answer to her question, a jeep flew over the roof of a nearby building. A Tank roared as it leaped from the top of the small building and slammed into the ground in front of a group of Diana's soldiers. The assassin huffed in distaste before falling back, firing a few rounds into the massive infected.

* * *

Private Caleb Brown ran out of the main building with as many weapons as he could hold. He handed an automatic shotgun to Alan, an assault rifle to Doc, and a submachine gun to Jamie. "There's more inside that I can get real quick ma'am!"

"Screw that Brown," Rebecca shouted, firing a pistol into the horde of zombies. "Just grab yourself a gun and help us damn it!" Caleb nodded then ran back inside the building. "Why the hell was Mark at the main gates!"

"He probably let the bastards responsible for this in," Jonathan shouted.

The heavyset Nathan bashed his head into the face of a zombie, knocking it to the ground before shooting it dead. "I told you: never count out conspiracy theories! CEDA is trying to kill survivors!"

"Damn it, shut the hell up," Jeff shouted, firing a combat burst rifle into the horde. "Worry about killing these bastards first!"

"We have to split up," Zoey said as she fired her dual pistols. "Backs-to-the-wall would work if we didn't have to worry about those soldiers who want to kill us!"

"She's right! We need to split up! Alan, Nathan, you two take Caleb to the west end of the base once he gets back!" Suddenly, a loud crash was heard followed by a pained cry and Caleb's body flying past the survivors. The group turned their heads, seeing an eight foot tall monster with long, thick tentacle like appendages coming out of its hands.

"What the hell is that thing," Jeff screamed.

"Oh son of a bitch," Jamie muttered.

"MOVE!" Everyone followed Alan's orders as the Lasher roared, throwing its right tentacle outward. The appendage tore through an alarming number of zombies that were trying to attack Caleb, who was incapacitated on the ground.

"Hey you ugly bastard," Jamie shouted, firing a few short bursts into the Lasher to get its attention. The beast snarled as its head veered around. "That's right, come and get me!" Jamie turned to start running, but froze when he saw another Lasher walking around the corner of a nearby building. "Oh you've gotta be fucking kidding me…"

The Lasher that cut Jamie off roared and charged forward, screaming in a bloody rage. The creature leaped into the air and threw one of its tentacles out. Jamie rolled to the side as the tentacle cracked a hole in the concrete. The beast landed where Jamie was standing a moment ago and snarled. The second Lasher rushed towards the brunette to help finish him, but an explosion engulfed half of its body.

Rebecca snapped open her grenade launcher and pulled out the empty shell before inserting a new one. The Lasher that was attacking Jamie turned to the female marine and rushed her. "Everyone get out of here," Rebecca shouted as she blasted the Lasher with a new grenade, blowing out its chest. "I'll distract them as long as I can! Just split up!"

Alan picked Caleb up, putting him on his back while Nathan and Jonathan provided cover fire. Doc grabbed Maria's arm and dragged her away along with Nicole. Jamie and Hank tried to join a larger group, but they were cut off by an alarming amount of zombies and opted for sticking together as a pair. Zoey looked around desperately for a group to join, but saw nobody. She fired her pistols into the zombies that attempted to rush her while backing away. Suddenly, automatic gunfire mowed down nearly half of the zombies in front of her. Zoey turned her head, seeing Jeff run up and wave towards her. The brunette didn't waste another second before running to catch up with him.

Rebecca fired a pistol while backing up to the main building, trying to reload her grenade launcher at the same time. She looked over at the Lasher corpses, realizing that one of them was starting to heal, slowly but surely. The marine gasped before firing a few rounds of her pistol into the monster's regenerating corpse. The bullets did nothing. Rebecca's pistol clicked empty, causing her to toss the firearm down instead of bothering to reloading it. She ran towards the main building, closing the door behind her. She wasted no time and tried to barricade herself inside.

"This is gonna be a long night…"

* * *

Diana spun around, slamming her heel into the jaw of a zombie, effectively snapping its neck. The assassin stamped her foot into the ground and began firing her pistol. Soon, the sidearm clicked empty. She emptied the clip, spun around to avoid a zombie tackling her, and slammed a fresh clip in. Diana stomped her foot through the zombie's skull and aimed her pistol, not wasting her bullets. The Tank that pursued her earlier smashed its way around a corner, taking out most of the zombies for her and her troops.

"Circle around the beast," Diana ordered. "Short controlled bursts so you don't hit each other!" The soldiers 'hupped' in response then started moving around the Tank.

The infected beast moved towards Diana, who stood motionless. The soldiers held fire, for fear that they'd hit their superior. Diana reached into her pocket, pulling out a small device no bigger than an average battery. The assassin jumped in the air, above the Tank's initial smash. She spun around and pressed a button on the device, causing it to blink a red light. Diana tossed the device into the Tank's mouth before landing on its back. She launched herself off the infected and landed smoothly on her feet just before the Tank's face and chest exploded.

"Move out. I want those survivors dead ASAP." The soldiers moved ahead, their boots stomping against the pavement while Diana casually strolled along behind them.

* * *

Jamie fired into the zombies in front of him and Hank. One zombie got close enough to try and punch the brunette. Jamie simply ducked under the strike, thrusted his shoulder into the infected's chest and threw it over his back. Hank meanwhile was covering the rear with an assault rifle.

"We need to find cover," the redhead shouted over his gunfire.

"No shit, I'm working on that!"

Hank smacked the butt of his gun across a zombie's jaw before he continued to fire, "Don't get smart with me just because your friends with that psychopath!"

"Call Doc a psycho again and I'll shoot you and leave you for zombie bait," Jamie snapped. The brunette reached for his knife and stabbed zombie in the head, letting it drop to the ground. "Besides, I can't blame him for beating the shit out of you! You don't steal a guy's fiancé!"

"Hey, she came to me! What the hell did you want me to do about it?"

"Try having morals jackass!" Jamie fired at a distant Boomer, causing it to explode.

"You're hardly one to talk," Hank screamed as he pushed a zombie off with his gun. "I heard your bitch-fest with that other girl! You work your own shit out before you trying lecturing me you fucking kid!"

Jamie gunned down a zombie as it fell down less than a foot away at his feet. "This is gonna be a fun experience," Jamie muttered to himself before running off. Hank looked over his shoulder and followed after him. "Mine was just bad timing! She literally threw herself on me and I didn't have time to push her off!"

"Bullshit," Hank shouted, firing to the side. "You can make all the excuses you want, but I know you liked it!"

"I didn't like it! Especially not the aftermath!" Jamie stopped and gunned down a pair of zombies that were too close for comfort. He continued running next to Hank. "Besides, she overreacted anyway!"

"Just like Nicole's ex. You're just on a team of fucking psychos aren't you?" Jamie clenched his teeth, feeling a strong urge to stab the man running next to him. No wonder Doc nearly killed this guy.

Jamie looked up, seeing a Hunter soaring through the air. The brunette spun around as the zombie flew past him and tackled Hank. Jamie flipped around his knife as the Hunter clawed Hank across the chest. Grabbing the tip of his blade, Jamie hurled the knife forward. The blade embedded itself deep into the Hunter's back, causing it to go limp in an instant. Jamie walked up and rolled the beast off while yanking his knife out.

"Get up you son of a bitch," Jamie hissed. Hank pulled out a pistol and started firing at the coming infected while Jamie tried helping him up. "Please tell me you can walk!"

"It's a wound across the chest, how the fuck does that affect my legs?" Jamie growled as he got Hank back up on his feet.

"How about 'thanks for saving my life and sorry for calling your friends psychos?' Ungrateful prick!" Jamie and Hank continued to run and gun. "I never thought I'd come to the point in my life where I miss Alan," Jamie whispered to himself. "But here it is…"

* * *

Zoey felt like shooting herself instead of the oncoming zombies. Sure, Jeff saved her life, but of course she had to be partnered with Michelle too. Apparently she had found her way to the corporal that saved her life once already.

The plan was for Jeff to lead them to the nearest building with ammunition and restock. Zoey had no problems with the plan, just a certain blonde. "Never thought I'd reach the point in my life where I miss Alan," Zoey murmured to herself.

"We're almost there," Jeff shouted. "Keep moving just a little further!"

"I'll go ahead and cover the entrance," Zoey offered, running forward without waiting for a response. She heard Jeff cussing behind her, but paid no attention to it. The brunette got to the door of the building the trio was heading towards and opened up the door. No zombies inside. "All clear!" Jeff and Michelle made a break straight towards the building. Zoey fired a few rounds at a couple of zombies, but knew that they could make it. Michelle was in first, leaving Jeff and Zoey to close the doors behind.

Jeff flicked on the lights, revealing an alarming amount of guns and ammunition. "Alright, reloading and stock up. We can wait this out."

"Wait—what," Zoey asked. "Wait what out? The zombies?"

"Yeah, unless you've got a better plan," Jeff snapped. "Rebecca said split up to spread these bastards thin. She didn't say we had to watch anyone else's backs."

"How exactly did you survive with this jerk helping you," Zoey asked Michelle.

"Hey come on Jeff, we can at least take out these ones right," Michelle suggested. "We don't have to leave, and we have more than enough guns to take them out."

"No. We stay put, eventually they'll give up and go away to take care of the others." Zoey's jaw dropped in shock. She shook her head as she began to gather up ammo and weapons. "What're you doing?"

"Something your wimp ass won't do," Zoey sharply replied.

"You're willing to die for the people out there?"

"That's right," Zoey snapped as she cocked a shotgun audibly. "Because I know there are a lot of people out there who would die protecting me. You wanna hold up and hide then be my guest, but I have friends out there that I need to protect. Just remember that the others out there could be dying just to make sure we survive." Jeff scoffed before taking a seat, lighting up a cigarette.

Zoey slung the shotgun over her shoulder, wrapping a belt of shells around her waist along with two addition, loaded, pistols. "Hey…" Zoey looked up, seeing Michelle next to her, picking up guns as well.

"What're you doing?"

"I thought I'd help you…" Zoey narrowed her eyes as Michelle looked up, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Why would you want to help me?"

"Look…I know when we first met I was a bit of a bitch." Zoey raised a questioning eyebrow, something Michelle took note of. "Okay, a really big bitch."

"Go on."

"But I've changed since then. I know you probably don't believe me, but being out here, facing the infection first hand…I got a better idea of what you and Jamie go through." Michelle moved a sniper rifle out of the way to pick up an SMG. "I regret what I said to you when we first met, and not just because you flattened my stomach. Life is too short to hold grudges against people, especially those who help one of my friends." Michelle smiled, staring Zoey dead in the eye. "And those who are special to Jamie…"

Zoey couldn't help but feel a large portion of her hatred for this girl fade away. Still, something bothered her. "Why did you kiss him though?"

"Well…life is short. And the being faced with near-death brought out some feelings in me." Michelle placed her hand on Zoey's shoulder. "I didn't know that you two actually talked about being together. I was selfish, and I wanted him for myself. But I know you're right for him. I'm not saying I'm wrong for him, but you two…you both definitely seem like a match made in heaven. I thought…well I actually don't know what I thought. I…I just wanted a chance to be with him I guess. I'm sorry for what I did to you and to Jamie." Zoey smirked before standing up with pistols in hand.

"That makes two of us I guess." The two girls, now armed to the teeth headed towards the door. Zoey paused for a second. Michelle looked over at her curiously. "I'm not going to lie…you're a bitch for what you did." Zoey looked up, a challenging smirk crossing her lips. "But at least you're a bitch I can respect."

"Thank you…I think." The two girls turned back to the door, ready to take on anything that was out there.

"Hold on," Jeff exclaimed. The girls turned their heads, seeing the corporal approaching them. "I can't let you girls run off on your own. What kind of man would that make me?"

"A wimpy ass one," Zoey answered.

"Ready when you are," Jeff said. Zoey nodded then kicked the door open and crouched down on her knee. The zombies rushed them, and were met with immediate gunfire.

* * *

Despite carrying one unconscious soldier, Alan took the lead, heading towards and unknown destination. "Where the hell are we going," Jonathan questioned. "Fat ass needs a twinkie or something!"

"Fuck off," Nathan panted.

"Just keep moving and keep covering me ass holes!" Alan stopped to shove his large boot into the chest of a zombie. The survivor then gunned down the infected and kept moving. "Caleb, I hope you wake up when we get to where we're getting." Alan looked ahead at a nearby warehouse, moving faster to get to it. "Pick up the pace ladies!"

"We're trying you son of a—GUAH!" Something wrapped around Jonathan's chest and yanked him backwards. Alan and Nathan turned, seeing a pair of Lashers, one of which was pulling Jonathan closer to them. "Keep moving! I'll hold this son of a bitch back!" Alan gave a reluctant stare before turning around and continuing towards the warehouse. Nathan gave one last glance before following Alan. "Come on you big bastard!"

Jonathan started firing his gun at the Lasher, causing it to roar in anger. Finally, enough bullets went through the beast's head that it fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. Jonathan tried to unwrap the tentacle from his body, but the second Lasher walked up and simply crushed the survivor's skull underfoot.

Alan closed the door once they were inside the warehouse. "Holy…" Nathan gapped in awe while Alan moved towards Caleb.

"Hey, soldier, wake up!" Alan shook and smacked the Private around a little before he eventually started to stir. "Listen, we've gotta move dude! You awake?"

"Uh huh," Caleb groaned, holding his head.

"You know how to work that thing?" Caleb looked at what Alan was pointing to. The Private's eyes widened and a grin crossed his face as he looked at the bulky survivor deviously.

"Uh huh…"

"Then mount up and let's kick some ass!" The Lasher outside growled lowly as it approached the warehouse. In an instant, a loud booming sound was heard and the Lasher was blown into tiny pieces. The resonating sound of an engine roaring was all that was heard. "Now let's get busy!"

* * *

Doc, Maria, and Nicole got to the medical center, having a clear view of the courtyard and the mysterious soldiers intent on killing them. Doc fired a few rounds at the straggling zombies that noticed them while trying not to get the attention of the soldiers nearby. Nicole stood behind Doc, keeping Maria as far away from the fighting as possible.

"Who are these guys," Doc murmured, crouching lowly to the ground.

"I'm not sure," Nicole replied. "But they're being pushed back by the zombies."

"That's because they're making so much noise," Maria whispered. "Stupid jerks."

"That woman though," Doc said, staring at the mysterious assassin who killed zombies without having to fall back. "That's the chick that kicked Alan's ass right?"

"Yeah, and she's a tough one too. I mean we just watched her blow up a Tank right? She's gotta be like super strong." Suddenly, one of the windows shatter inside the med bay, causing Maria to shriek in fright. Nicole moved the little girl around, turning to whatever was coming from behind.

Doc turned and began firing at a Lasher's face as it tried crawling through the window. "Move!" Nicole grabbed Maria's hand and ran as quickly as she could away from the med center.

Diana turned her head, hearing gunfire nearby. She saw two survivors, a woman with black hair and the little girl she recognized as Maria running away. Diana smirked a devious smirk then rushed to cut off the two girls.

Doc stepped back and slammed the door shut. He looked to the side, seeing Diana heading towards Maria and Diana. "Oh hell no you don't!" Doc sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him to stop the assassin.

Diana fired a shot in front of Nicole, causing her to stop in her tracks. Nicole turned her head, only to be met with a fist to the face. The former doctor stumbled back, falling to the ground. Diana smirked then turned to Maria who gasped in shock. She aimed the pistol at the little girl's head. A second before she fired, Maria threw her leg out, kicking Diana in the shin. The assassin cried out in pain, jumping back on one leg. Maria dove forward in an attempt to tackle Diana. The assassin placed both feet on the ground and sidestepped as she smacked Maria to the ground. The young girl cried out as she hit the pavement.

"You and your friends have caused enough trouble for me," Diana said as she lowered the pistol to the little girl. "Time to die."

Diana got ready to pull the trigger, but was stalled when she heard someone screaming nearby. Turning her head, Diana watched as Doc dove through the air and tackled her to the ground. The blonde growled as he tried to pin Diana's arms to the ground, but he was surprised by the woman's strength. Doc finally managed to throw the gun out of Diana's hands, causing it to slide far out of reach. The assassin screamed as she pulled her legs up under Doc and shoved him off. The blonde rolled back but quickly got up and drew his pistol.

Diana got up in the blink of an eye and looked at Doc who already had his pistol aimed. The assassin dove to the side as a shot rang out. Diana rolled on her hands and ended up on her feet before she sprinted towards her pistol. Doc scowled and continued to fire, but he couldn't hit Diana because of her near impossible speed.

The black haired assassin dove forward, grabbing her pistol as she rolled across the ground. Doc and Diana aimed their pistols at each other, both having a clear head-shot lined up. Neither dared to move or fire at each other.

A loud smashing noise caused both humans to turn their heads, seeing the Lasher busting out of the med-bay. Diana and Doc snapped their heads back to each other, sharing a knowing stare. Diana was the first to turn her aim away and sprinted towards the Lasher. Doc put his pistol away and grabbed a nearby assault rifle, putting a few rounds into the beast.

The Lasher struck its tentacle outward at Diana. The woman spun around and pulled out a combat knife in a fluid motion. She swung the blade downward, cutting the tentacle off cleanly. The Lasher screamed as it pulled its appendage back, the wound closing in an instant.

"Pain in the ass," Diana and Doc muttered at the same time.

A sniper bullet went off, causing Doc to turn his head. Nicole was aiming a sniper rifle right at the Lasher, standing over Maria protectively. Doc and Nicole both started firing at the Lasher, getting the beast's attention. Diana rushed forward, firing her pistol at the beast's head. The Lasher turned its head and swung its other tentacle outward. Diana stopped and ducked under the strike. She quickly grabbed the tentacle and was pulled back towards the Lasher. The beast growled and roared in anger, lifting its fist high above its head to smash Diana into the ground. The assassin pulled out another battery sized grenade and activated it. She waited until she was closer before hurling it into the beast's mouth.

The Lasher swallowed the grenade as it threw its fist downward. Diana ducked under the strike. She jumped up, putting her hands on the sides of the monster's head and placing her feet against the Lasher's chest. She kicked outward just as her grenade exploded, giving her extra momentum towards Doc and Nicole.

"Are you fucking kidding me," Doc shouted as he aimed his rifle.

Diana fell to the ground and rolled with her momentum as Doc fired. The bullets whizzed past Diana as she rolled onto her feet and rushed forward, firing her pistol back. Doc dove to the side while Nicole pulled Maria to the side with her. Diana looked at Doc, realizing that he was defenseless. She stopped and aimed her pistol for a clean shot.

Just as she fired her gun, someone came and tackled her from the side. The bullet flew through the air harmlessly. Diana hit the ground hard, her pistol bouncing out of her grasp. She screamed in rage as she elbowed whoever tackled her in the side of the head. This loosened the person's grip, allowing Diana to roll away. The attacker rolled back and onto his feet as well.

"Hey there," Jamie breathed heavily. Diana scowled angrily, growing tired of people attacking her right before she makes the killing shot. Jamie pulled out his combat knife, twirling it around effortlessly. "Care to dance?"

Diana huffed, pulling out her own combat knife, "Why can't things ever be easy…"

Nicole aimed her sniper rifle, ready to take the shot at Diana. Before she could pull the trigger, a bullet whizzed by her head along with something wet. She looked over and saw a zombie's headless form fall next to her and Maria.

"Nicole," Hank called out. "Come on!"

"We have to help them," Nicole shouted, standing up to fire at the zombies that started rushing her again.

Diana rushed forward, swinging her knife upward. Jamie jumped back and blocked the strike with his knife. The brunette swung his knife at the head and then the stomach, both of which Diana blocked. Jamie threw his fist forward, trying to strike Diana. The assassin ducked under the blow and quickly turned to attack. To her shock, Jamie sprung rearwards, slamming his back into her body. Diana was smashed into the ground, groaning in pain before Jamie rolled off. The two rose up to their feet, their knives gleaming brightly.

Diana huffed as she spun around, throwing her foot across Jamie's jaw. The brunette stumbled to the side before spinning around. Diana slammed her fist into the bottom of Jamie's jaw, causing him to stagger back again. The assassin kneed Jamie in the stomach, causing him to wrench forward and cry out in pain. She grabbed a handful of Jamie's long hair and threw him to the ground.

"You're quite the fighter," Diana stated as she approached Jamie. The brunette quickly got up, stabbing forward. Diana grabbed his wrist and kicked his feet out from under him. Jamie smacked into the ground face first, his knife clattering next to him. Diana placed her foot on top of the knife and kicked it out of reach. "I'm surprised you know how to use that knife to be honest. Though I grow tired of playing games with your little group." Diana placed her foot on Jamie's side and rolled him onto his back. "Any last requests?"

"Blow me," Jamie snapped. Whether he was joking or serious, it was more than enough to enrage Diana.

The assassin screamed as she lifted the knife high above her head and stabbed downward. Jamie caught the attack by seizing Diana's wrists. Jamie groaned in strain. He was planning on pushing Diana's knife back, but he was having enough trouble from keeping the blade closer to his chest. Finally, the brunette threw his legs upward, rolling Diana over his body. Once freed, Jamie rolled forward and turned as Diana did the same.

"You're very persistent," Diana stated evenly.

"Jamie," Doc called out, "We got trouble!" Diana and Jamie turned, seeing what appeared to be an army of zombies with Tanks, Lashers, Boomers, Hunters, and just about any other infected coming towards them.

"Oh shit," Jamie murmured. Diana growled, tightening her grip on her blade.

Suddenly, a massive explosion went off in the center of the army of zombies. The infected froze in their tracks, turning to the enormous sound they just heard while the survivors covered their ears. Suddenly, a massive, military tank rolled around the corner.

"OH SHIT," Jamie shouted.

The top hatch of the tank came off and Nathan, still wearing his helmet, popped out and manned the turret. He started firing into the army of zombies, mowing them down in a shower of brass and gore.

"What's up bitches," Nathan shouted.

"_Ladies, gentlemen, and blood drooling fuckers,"_ an all too familiar voice spoke over a loud speaker. _"This is your resident bad ass Alan speaking. Please stand away from the tank or anything else that it may shoot at this time."_

The massive vehicle fired its main cannon, blowing another hole in the center of the infected army. Nathan mowed down the infected as Alan rolled over any the heavyset survivor didn't hit.

"Is Alan really in charge of a tank," Doc asked in a shrill voice.

"WAY TO GO ALAN," Jamie screamed as he watched his friend plow over zombies.

"_I'm sorry, what's that? I can't hear you over how awesome I am! KAPLOW!"_ The tank fired another round, blowing a group of zombies into a shower of blood and guts.

Diana huffed before spinning around and punching Jamie to the ground. The assassin rushed forward, circling around the tank Alan drove. Jamie growled as he got up and chased after the sucker-punching assassin.

Zoey stopped as she reached the courtyard, seeing a giant military tank running over and blowing up zombies left and right, the mysterious group of soldiers being overwhelmed by zombies, and her own group of survivors fighting off as many zombies as they could. Zoey turned her head back to the tank for a moment before running to help Doc and Nicole.

Diana looked over, stopping for a moment when she saw Zoey. She had half a mind to shoot the oblivious brunette right then and there. The assassin decided to do so and reached for her gun. When she felt nothing, she looked down and groaned when she remembered what happened to it. Suddenly, Diana was tackled to the ground from behind.

"I'm REALLY getting sick of that," the assassin roared. Diana elbowed Jamie in the side of the head then squirmed out of his grasp. The two pulled out their knives and held them out from each other. Diana raised a questioning eyebrow when she saw Jamie with a knife.

"You ran right by it," Jamie answered with a taunting smirk. "Now let's try this again shall we?"

* * *

Nathan cheered and screamed as he continued to gun down zombies. Unbeknownst to him, a Jockey crawled up the back of the tank, cackling madly. Nathan turned around just as the infected leapt on his face. The survivor cried out, trying to push the little monster off his face.

Inside the tank, Caleb and Alan heard Nathan's pained screams. Caleb moved towards the back of the tank and pulled out a pistol as he approached the heavyset man. As soon as he did, Nathan's body fell inside the tank in a heap with all the skin on his face clawed off. Caleb cried out and jumped back before looking up at the Jockey responsible. The Private screamed as he fired at the infected, putting three shots through its body. The Jockey fell to the side and limply slid off the vehicle.

"We lost Nathan," Caleb shouted.

"Then close the hatch," Alan ordered. Caleb nodded then started to crawl up the ladder and stopped. He looked up and saw a Spitter standing over the hatch.

"Uh oh…" The infected poured its acid inside. Caleb quickly jumped back, letting the patch of acid hit the inside of the tank. Alan turned around in shock, seeing the green acidic liquid filling the inside of the vehicle quickly.

"Oh shit!" Caleb and Alan started climbing on the walls or up onto anything they could to avoid the acid. "That bitch is mine!" Alan moved across the tank, avoiding the ground before he reached the ladder.

The Spitter gurgled as it saw Alan and readied to spit again. The bulky survivor quickly grabbed the infected's ankle and yanked it down inside. The Spitter cried out as it smacked the cold steel floor hard. The infected squirmed as it started to burn alive in its own acid. Alan moved back towards his seat and sat back at the controls.

"Alright, back to the ass kick—OH SHIT!" Alan saw an infected Tank standing in front of him, staring through the small viewport. The massive monster roared as it threw its fist forward, denting the heavy metal. "Son of a bitch!"

Alan moved out of the seat as the beast punched a few more times, the dent almost reaching the driver's seat. Alan quickly kicked the fire controls, firing one last round from the tank's main cannon. The infected Tank took the shell right in the face, creating a large explosion at point blank. The front of the military tank was covered in fire, while the infected one was completely dead.

"Let's get out of this thing now," Alan shouted. Caleb nodded and started climbing up the ladder with Alan right behind him.

The survivors stood on top of the tank, firing down at the infected that wanted a piece of them. Literally in this case. Alan looked over, seeing Jamie and the woman that kicked his ass fighting each other. He wasn't going to let an opportunity like this one go to waste. Alan tapped Caleb's shoulder and signaled for him to follow. The two jumped down from the tank, and Alan immediately headed for Diana.

* * *

Jamie stumbled back from one of Diana's punches. The assassin chuckled as she approached Jamie, twirling her blade around on her fingertips. Jamie stabbed forward at Diana's head. The woman stepped to the side, grabbed Jamie's wrist and twisted his arm around as she moved to the other side. Diana lifted her leg up above Jamie's arm and kicked him in the face. The survivor stumbled back, groaning in pain as he held his nose.

"Care to give up yet?" Jamie pinched his nose to try and stop it from bleeding before he looked up. The brunette grinned, causing Diana to raise a questioning eyebrow.

"HEY BITCH!" Diana spun around, seeing Alan with his rifle raised high above his head.

The assassin quickly ducked under Alan's strike and tripped his feet out from under him. The survivor fell down on his shoulder, rolling across the ground. Diana looked back, seeing a military soldier coming at him. Caleb threw his fist forward, which Diana averted. The assassin threw her leg up, kicking the Private hard enough in the face that he was knocked flat on his back. Diana spun around, following the momentum of her kick before stopping with her pistol aimed right at the ground where Caleb was lying. The Private stared at the gun in shock before Diana pulled the trigger.

Caleb screamed in pain as the bullet tore through his shoulder. The Private screamed and rolled around, clutching his bleeding wound in pain. Diana looked down, raising her gun up as she hummed curiously, "I usually don't miss…how strange."

Alan got back up and hurled his rifle at Diana. The assassin ducked under the flying firearm and rushed forward. Alan did the same, pulling one of his fists back. Diana stopped short and raised her forearm to stop Alan's strike at the wrist. She spun around and jabbed her elbow violently into Alan's stomach. Diana cried out as she then threw the larger man over her shoulders, slamming him onto his back. Diana huffed in satisfaction, smiling at Alan who was wincing in pain.

Diana turned as she heard Jamie screaming at her. She raised her knife, blocking Jamie's blade while stepping back. Alan quickly rolled onto his stomach and grabbed Diana's legs. The assassin gasped as she lost her balance and fell forward. Dropping her pistol and knife, Diana stuck her hands out to catch herself. The assassin growled in fury as she pulled her legs back, slipping her feet out of her shoes to free herself of Alan's grip. She threw her legs back, kicking Jamie in the face. The brunette stumbled back as the assassin put her feet on the ground. Alan stood up and was quickly met with a heel to the jaw from Diana that threw him back to the ground. Diana quickly slipped her feet back into her high heels and turned to Jamie.

"Okay, I could see how Alan got his ass kicked by you," Jamie said, nodding slightly. "You've got some moves."

Diana huffed, moving a strand of loose hair out of her face. Alan slowly got off the ground, wiping the blood away from the corner of his mouth while facing Diana. The assassin looked behind her to Alan and then to Jamie in front of her. The two survivors nodded to each other then charged forward at the same time. Diana jumped into the air, extending both legs and spinning around. Her heels smacked into the faces of both Alan and Jamie, throwing both survivors to the ground. Diana landed in a crouch, looking between the two survivors. They were still conscious, but they were taking awhile to move. Diana smirked then stood grabbed her pistol and knife, standing up.

"Which of you do I pick to kill first," Diana mused.

"Hey bitch!" Diana's eyes snapped open before she turned her head. Zoey swung her gun like a bat, smacking the butt of her weapon into Diana's face. The assassin cried out in pain as she was thrown back and hit the ground hard. Zoey aimed her rifle at Diana on the ground. "Remember me?"

* * *

Doc pulled a zombie off Nicole and threw it to the ground before gunning it down. "We might get through this," Doc exclaimed.

Hank stood behind Doc and Nicole, firing at the remaining few zombies that were coming after them. Suddenly, a loud thud was heard. Hank turned his head before he was suddenly grasped by a tentacle. The survivor cried out as he was pulled forward, towards a Lasher standing on the roof of the med-bay. Doc, Nicole, and Maria looked over, seeing the beast pulling Hank forward.

"Stay down," Jeff shouted as he and Michelle came up and began firing at the Lasher. The beast covered its face, letting the rest of its body become riddled with bullet holes.

"You have to shoot it in the face," Doc snapped. "It's body can regenerate otherwise!"

"It's kind of hard when it's protecting itself," Jeff screamed.

Hank pulled out a pistol from his waist as he was being pulled up to the Lasher. The beast looked the survivor in the eye and roared in his face, releasing trickles of spit. "Eat this!" Hank stuff the barrel of his pistol into the Lasher's mouth and began firing every which way.

The Lasher screamed in pain before pulling its head back. The beast roared again and sunk its teeth into Hank's forehead. A sickening, blood curdling scream came from Hank as the Lasher took a chunk of his head out with its teeth. Doc and Nicole quickly turned Maria the other way from the gruesome sight. The Lasher swallowed the chunk of head it bit off and then violently threw Hank's body to the ground. The corpse bounced twice, lying on its back as blood raced out of its head.

"You son of a bitch," Nicole shouted, firing sniper bullets at the Lasher.

The beast roared as it sprung forward, heading towards Nicole. Doc jumped into the Lasher, knocking himself and the beast to the side. The blonde quickly rolled over the infected monster's body to try and get away, but the beast lashed its tentacle out, wrapping around Doc's waist.

"Son of a—BITCH!" The Lasher flung Doc outward like a ragdoll. The blonde screamed before he hit the ground with a thud, not too far from Zoey and Diana.

Both girls looked over at the blonde for a moment before Diana realized this was her chance. The assassin aimed her gun at Zoey and fired. The brunette rolled forward a split second sooner and began firing at Diana. The assassin dove to the side, throwing her pistol at Zoey. The sidearm hit Zoey's assault rifle, almost knocking it out of her hands. Diana landed on her feet and charged forward, kicking the gun out of Zoey's hands.

"Oh shit!" Zoey rolled to the side as Diana swung her knife down on her.

"Hold still bitch," Diana hissed.

Jeff pulled out a shotgun and blasted the Lasher point blank as it tried to get off the ground. With its head having a massive hole in it, the rest of the body fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.

"That takes care of that," Jeff stated with a smug smirk.

"Maria wait!" Jeff turned his head, seeing Nicole chase after Maria who was rushing to aid Zoey.

"Jeff, come on," Michelle shouted, following after the other girls. Jeff huffed, watching the assassin Diana at work.

Diana swung her knife from side to side, getting closer and closer to cutting Zoey across the stomach. Finally, the brunette caught Diana's arm and stopped her. To Diana's shock, she couldn't break free from Zoey's hold. The brunette stomped her foot down on Diana's ankle. The assassin cried out and fell to her knee. Zoey released the black haired woman and socked her across the face. Diana roared in outrage, sweeping her leg across the ground to knock Zoey on her side. The two women quickly rolled away from each other and got to their feet.

Maria screamed as she leaped up and latched herself to Diana's back. The assassin stumbled forward, screaming as she tried to throw the little girl off her back. Maria had her arm around Diana's neck, squeezing as hard as she could while using her other hand to pull the assassin's hair. Zoey's eyes widened in shock before she rushed forward to help Maria. Diana finally jerked her body one way and flung Maria to the ground when she swung her body the other way. The little girl hit the ground hard, rolling away as she saw Zoey and Nicole coming towards her.

Diana looked back, seeing Nicole, and then forward to Zoey. She thrusted her foot back, missing Nicole's face by mere inches. Diana then swung her leg across the ground and attempted to kick Zoey's chin. Nicole swung her gun at the back of Diana's head. The assassin ducked, flipped forward gracefully in place. She spun around and elbowed Nicole across the face before turning to Zoey and blocking her strike. Diana smashed her head against Zoey's face, causing the brunette to stumble back. Diana pulled her knife back, ready to stab Zoey and finish her. Suddenly, something kicked her from the side, and threw Diana to the ground.

The assassin screamed before she jerked her head up. Michelle rushed forward, raising her gun high above her head. Diana, now completely fueled by rage, stood up and stabbed her knife forward. Michelle froze in place, eyes widening in horror. She looked down, seeing Diana's knife imbedded into her stomach.

Zoey and Nicole groaned as they sat up and looked towards Diana. Zoey's eyes widened in shock. "No…"

Jamie, Alan, and Doc all groaned as they got up off the ground. Jamie shook his head as he looked up. Pain and horror crossed his face when he saw Diana and Michelle. His entire body trembled when he saw blood dripping from Michelle's stomach.

"Stupid bitch," Diana bitterly said before pulling her knife out of Michelle's stomach. The blonde fell backwards, blood trailing from the wound in her stomach. She hit the ground hard.

Jamie screamed as he got up and rushed Diana. Doc and Alan quickly got up and charged behind Jamie in a screaming rage. Zoey also got up and rushed Diana in a flying rage with Nicole and Maria right behind her.

Diana turned and barely blocked Jamie's initial strike with her knife. The brunette threw his fist across her face with all his might, causing Diana to spin around on her heel. The assassin growled angrily, lifting one of her legs up high into the air and wrapped it around Jamie's shoulder, slamming her heel into survivor's back. With all her might, Diana pushed Jamie down to the ground face first, digging her heel into his spine.

The assassin looked up and stepped away as Zoey threw a punch at her face. Diana twirled her knife, readying to stab Zoey. Just then, a pair of arms came up under Diana's armpits and held her in a full nelson. Zoey punched Diana across the face and then once in the stomach. The assassin grinned, a bit of blood trailing from the corner of her mouth. She stomped on Alan's foot and then thrusted her head back. The bulky survivor cried out and stumbled back as Zoey threw her fist forward. Diana caught Zoey's strike, pulled her forward, and elbowed the brunette in the stomach before effectively backhanding her.

Jamie sprung up from the ground and slammed his shoulder into Diana's stomach. The assassin cried out as the air from her body escaped her mouth. Diana scowled before thrusting her knee into Jamie's stomach while bashing her elbow into his spine. Jamie's entire body twitched oddly, releasing Diana. The assassin grabbed the back of Jamie's shirt and flung him back to the ground.

Maria threw a kick, nailing Diana in the knees. The black haired woman fell to one knee, a pained howl escaping her lips. Nicole ran up, grabbed two handfuls of Diana's hair and smashed her knee into the assassin's face. Diana fell onto her back, screaming as she held her nose in pain. Jamie grabbed his knife and rolled across the ground towards the assassin. Diana's eyes snapped to the side, seeing Jamie's knife coming towards her. She rolled to the side as the blade dug into the ground. Diana rolled up to her feet, her sunglasses now falling down her nose. Suddenly, the assassin was pounded back onto the ground.

Doc, who was behind Diana, grabbed the woman's trench coat to pull her off the ground. The woman slipped her arms out of the leather jacket and slid under Doc's legs. The blonde looked down in shock before turning around, only to be punched across the face. Diana panted heavily, pushing her sunglasses up her nose only for them to slid back down a bit. Doc stumbled back next to Nicole and Maria, the three staring angrily at the assassin.

Diana smirked and then started chuckling lowly, "Now this is a surprise. I've taken on larger groups of better trained survivors, and none of them have given me this much trouble before. You five…you're most intriguing…"

Jamie ran past Doc, Nicole, and Maria, screaming in a blind rage. Diana smirked, catching Jamie's fist. She twisted his arm around, spinning the young man and pulling his arm behind his back with a sickening crack. Doc jerked forward, but stopped when Diana held her knife out in sight.

"That blonde one must've been important to you if you're this angry," Diana stated. "What was she? Your girlfriend? Sister?" Jamie growled as he tried to break free of her grip. "If you survivors leave now I'll let you live…for awhile."

"What," Doc snapped.

"This ones life for the rest of you," Diana replied. "I'll take my sweet time killing this one while the rest of you make a break for it. Tracking the survivors is half the fun of killing them."

"You sick…twisted bitch," Maria exclaimed. Diana chuckled dragging the tip of her blade across Jamie's cheek, leaving a light cut. "Let him go!"

"Such a tongue that one," Diana stated with a sneer. She pulled the knife away, letting the thin sheet of blood run down Jamie's face. "I wouldn't be making demands if I were in your position."

"Let him go," Zoey said. The three survivors looked back, seeing the brunette walking forward. "Take me instead."

"Oh?"

"I was the reason you didn't kill us at the hospital. If I didn't interfere, you would've killed Alan, and then Maria and I. Doc and Jamie might've died, they might've escaped. If they escaped your job now would be so much easier now wouldn't it?"

"Oh aren't you the logical little thinker," Diana mused. "So he must be very special to you if you're willing to trade your life for his. If you want I'll let you stay and die with him if he's that special to you." Zoey raised a pistol, aiming it at Diana and Jamie. The assassin threw her head back and laughed as loud as she possibly could. "What's this? You're not going to be the hero."

"That's right," Zoey whispered as she lowered her pistol. "Just the distraction…"

Diana's face twisted in confusion. Suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from the side. Diana and Jamie snapped their heads to the sound, seeing a giant black van that smashed through the brick wall. Diana released Jamie as she turned to the van. The brunette quickly dove out of the way while Diana tried aiming her pistol at the windshield. Before she could even pull out her weapon, the front of the van smacked into Diana and sent her flying. The van's engine continued to run, but the vehicle remained still. The door opened and Alan stepped out.

"Come on, I got the attention of some of those soldier dudes! And I don't think they'll be happy when they see this!"

Doc and Nicole ran up to the van, the blonde opening the door for the latter. They both helped a limping Maria into the back before Doc jumped in himself. Jamie knelt down next to Michelle and attempted to lift her up, but found it difficult from the beating he took. Jamie looked up, seeing Zoey kneeling down across from him, putting her hands under Michelle.

"Come on," she whispered. "One, two, three, lift!" The two brunettes groaned as they picked up Michelle's body. They slowly moved towards the van, putting Michelle's body in before hopping into the back and shutting the doors.

The van spun around, its tires squealing against the pavement as it turned to the hole in the wall Alan made earlier. Diana groaned, holding the side of her head as she sat up. She pulled out her pistol and began firing at the van that sped off through the hole in the wall and into the distance. Diana growled, moving to stand up despite the enormous amount of pain she was now in.

"Ma'am," a soldier called out. Diana looked over, seeing two and a half squads of her soldiers approaching. "Are you alright?"

"I was betrayed, shot at, beaten, punched, hit with a flying van, and the survivors I was meant to kill before got away. How the fuck do you think I am?" The soldier stammered a bit, worrying that Diana would shoot him. "That was rhetorical." The soldier sighed in relief. Diana cocked her pistol and shot the man in the foot, causing him to cry out in pain and fall on his back. "I'm starting to feel better though. Are there any survivors?"

"We picked up one soldier who took a bullet wound to the shoulder," a different soldier answered. "There's another who's injured in the main building complex. She's armed, but we've apprehended her. She's too injured to be moved, so we figure we'd round finish both of them in there."

"Good," Diana murmured. "Let's go talk to these survivors shall we?"

* * *

Alan pulled onto the free way, speeding as fast as he could to put the maximum amount of distance possible between them and the base. Jamie and Zoey were sitting on either side of Michelle while Doc and Nicole were examining the wound. The two doctors looked knowingly at each other before staring up at the brunettes.

"She's lost too much blood," Nicole murmured. "Plus we don't have the proper medical equipment to deal with something as serious as this." Jamie's eyes began to well up as he looked down at the dying Michelle. "I'm sorry…"

"It's alright," Zoey replied softly. Doc looked down, groaning as he strained to stand up. Nicole helped the blonde to his feet and carried him away from the three young adults.

"I'm sorry," Michelle whispered. "I tried to help…"

"You shouldn't have," Jamie softly murmured. "You wouldn't be like this if you hadn't…"

"I…I couldn't let you and Zoey do all the work could I?" Michelle laughed a bit. "Jamie…I'm sorry for what I did. I…I didn't mean to cause problems for you and…" The blonde winced a bit in pain, groaning as she said, "Zoey…"

"No," Jamie replied, holding Michelle's hand. "It was my fault. I-I should've-," Jamie was cut off when Zoey placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let her talk Jamie," Zoey said gently. The brunette nodded, looking down at his dying childhood friend.

"I…I was selfish. I should've known there was something between you two…" Michelle coughed, blood flying out of her mouth. "Sh-she's a wonderful girl Jamie…don't lose her a…and don't ever…let her go…"

Michelle's eyes flickered a bit, slowly rolling up as her eyelids closed. Tears ran down Jamie's face as he clutched Michelle's hand tightly. He pressed his forehead against Michelle's fingers as he cried.

Zoey wiped a few tears of her own, both over losing Michelle and seeing Jamie like this. Doc and Nicole looked on with sympathy at the two brunettes. Maria was sobbing gently, something which caused Nicole to embrace the little girl gently. Alan sniffed, wiping away a couple of tears while focusing on the road. He never got use to watching people he knew die.

* * *

A few miles later, the survivors pulled over and placed Michelle's wrapped body on the side of the road. Their tears had been shed, only heartbreak and silence was shared. Jamie walked up, looking at Michelle's uncovered, smiling, dead face for a moment.

"I'm sorry Michelle…I'm sorry I couldn't save you." Jamie sniffed a bit, wiping away the tears building in the corners of his eyes. "I-If you see Ed…tell him I'm sorry too. I couldn't protect either of you. But I promise that I'll get through this…" Jamie moved his eyes over his shoulder to his team; Alan, Doc, Nicole, Maria, and Zoey. "Not alone though." Jamie looked back to Michelle and knelt down. A single tear rolled down his cheek and landed on Michelle's face. "I'm sorry…rest in peace Michelle…" Jamie stepped back, standing next to his team again.

Zoey walked up, much to Jamie's surprise. Zoey knelt down next to Michelle and sighed heavily. "I know we didn't start off on the best of terms…I guess it was just a huge misunderstanding and we were both going through different tidal waves of emotion at the time. I had no right to judge you, and I apologize for all the things I said about you. You turned out to be a completely different person than I imagined. You were a wonderful woman, and you didn't deserve this. I know how much Jamie means to you…and I promise I'll watch out for him no matter what. You have my word." Zoey pulled the sheet over Michelle's face. "Goodbye Michelle…" Zoey stood up and walked back to the survivors.

Jamie turned his head in Alan and Doc's direction, nodding as he turned around and headed to the van. Doc pulled out a lighter while Alan grabbed his machete which had a cloth wrapped around it. Zoey watched as Jamie headed to the back of the van. Alan walked up and dropped the burning cloth on Michelle's body, letting the flames spread. The survivor stepped back, standing next to Doc and Zoey.

Zoey watched the flames slowly cover Michelle's body, engulfing her in fire. The brunette was shaken out of her trance by a firm hand. She looked up, seeing that Alan had his arm around her.

"You did a good job today," Alan muttered. Zoey smiled and put her arm around Alan's back.

"Thanks, though you did all the planning. I do think the van was a little overkill though." Alan chuckled a bit, causing Zoey to crack a smile.

Nicole stepped closer to Doc, slipping her hand into his. The blonde looked down and then followed the arm up to Nicole. The former doctor was staring at the fire calmly, but the light squeeze she was giving Doc's hand told him everything. The blonde squeezed her hand gently. Nicole rested her head on her former fiancé's shoulder, having gone through one hell of a day.

Maria snuck around behind her team to the back of the van. Jamie was sitting on the bumper, his back to Michelle's burning body while he stared emptily at his knife. "You're not going to be present at your friend's funeral," Maria softly asked.

"I'm here aren't I," Jamie muttered. Maria walked up and sat next to Jamie, putting her hand on his leg.

"It wasn't your fault Jamie. You can't save everyone and you know it. I know it hurts now, but Michelle would want you to move on right?" Jamie sighed, nodding in agreement as he holstered his knife. "So at least come watch her cremation alright?" Jamie smirked, finding the little girls' wording amusing before he nodded again. Maria smiled, taking Jamie's hand as she jumped down from the bumper and pulled the brunette back to the rest of the gang.

Jamie stood next to Zoey, both watching the fire with softened eyes. "I take it you two made up beforehand?"

"Yeah," Zoey murmured. "She was a great gal Jamie." Zoey turned to her friend and elbowed his arm gently. "I can't blame you for wanting to make out with her." Jamie scoffed, a smile on his face.

"Listen…Zoey I…I've thought about what Michelle said and-,"

"Don't finish that sentence," Zoey said, holding up her finger. "You didn't want to get together because you didn't want our feelings to be influenced by desperation or impulse by this apocalypse right? I don't want…us to be together just because…if we did get together because of what happened to Michelle then it's the same thing right? I mean it would be like you're not getting with me because you want to get with me, but because Michelle told you to. I want us to be…together on our own terms. Not someone else's, no matter how special she was." There was a moment of silence between the brunettes. "That wasn't too cold was it?"

Jamie laughed a bit, putting a hand on his hip, "I'm sure that Michelle would understand where you're coming from if she knew the whole story. Don't worry though, I understand completely. For now we'll honor Michelle by surviving."

"Right," Zoey replied. "We'll be ready for a relationship someday right?" Zoey slipped her fingers between Jamie's, squeezing his hand tightly. "Just not now."

"Right." Jamie smiled and squeezed Zoey's hand gently. "Well, I'm ready anytime you are boss lady." Zoey rolled her eyes, elbowing Jamie in the side gently. The brash brunette chuckled before putting his arm around Zoey. The survivors shared a moment of silence as they stood over Michelle as she passed onto the next life.

* * *

Diana walked into the main complex, cracking her neck as she stretched it out. In front of her were two military soldiers kneeling in front of her, tied and bleeding from different incidents. A soldier handed Diana two files which she opened and started browsing.

"Private First Class: Caleb Brown, and—oh my, Captain Rebecca Halls. You have so many awards and recognitions it's no wonder you survived a horde all by yourself. My men are still counting, but its well over a hundred zombies out there. Counting special infected and at least three Lashers, your combat skills are quite impressive." Diana closed the folders and handed them back to the soldier. "How about I make you a deal? You can join me, as my personal second-in-command, and I'll let you live."

"You attacked my base, you killed Mark in cold blood, and who knows how many of the others you killed out there!" Rebecca spat at Diana's feet. "You can burn in hell you bitch!" Diana sighed, pushing her sunglasses up her nose.

"Then you both die. How sad."

"Ma'am," a soldier exclaimed. Diana turned slowly, seeing a man walk in, unarmed with his hands high above his head.

"Oh look at this, here's another soldier that escaped," Diana purred. "What's your name?"

"Corporal Jeff Smith ma'am. I think I can help you."

"No Jeff," Caleb shouted. Diana turned and backhanded the Private across the face to silence him. She turned back to Jeff and smiled, waiting for him to continue.

"I don't know whatever you're after, but you showed up, survived an ambush when you were outnumber six to one, and you still have more than enough soldiers to do it again. Not only that, but I saw what you did to those other six survivors. You held your ground and beat them all single-handedly. You know how to survive, and considering the situation, I'd say survival is the only thing that matters."

Diana's lips curled up into a smile, "Well, you're definitely a man who knows what he wants. The question is do you have the guts to do what I do?" Diana nodded to a soldier who immediately handed Jeff a pistol. Diana stepped to the side and pointed to Caleb and Rebecca, "Kill both of them."

"Both of them?"

"Yes. Part of my job is killing any and all survivors. Defenseless, half dead, alive, it doesn't matter. They must die. This is your test to prove yourself. Kill both of them." Jeff looked at the gun and at his fellow soldiers.

"Don't do this Jeff," Caleb pleaded. "You don't have to do this!"

"Actually I do," Jeff replied before putting a bullet through Caleb's head. The Private's eyes rolled back into his head before he fell to the side in a heap.

"You heartless bastard," Rebecca growled. "You're a fucking coward and a traitor! I hope you enjoy hell you son of a bitch!"

"Send me a postcard while you're down there bitch," Jeff sniped before firing a bullet at Rebecca's chest. The former Captain gasped, looking at the hole in her chest before Jeff put another one through her head. The body slouched over lifelessly. Jeff gently nudged it back with his foot before handing the pistol back to the soldier. "Well?"

"Most impressive," Diana stated with a grin. "You'll be a fine commander for my soldiers. Be warned though, the man who I work for may think I'm dead, and my former partner betrayed me. You don't know it yet, but when we find him I'll show you and demonstrate on him what I do when I'm betrayed."

"What happens if the guy you work for ordered him to betray you?"

"Then I'll kill them both," Diana replied, venom dripping from her tone. "But first thing's first, I want to track down those survivors, and _end_ them. If we're lucky, Williams may be heading towards the next outpost and we can finish him there. Come Mr. Smith, we have business to deal with."

"Right behind you ma'am," Jeff replied with a smile. The assassin exited the room with the traitor and her soldiers right behind her. Next stop: Grove Military outpost, formerly known as Grove Museum.

**

* * *

God! Again with the fun of writing stuff! This chapter I feel had a lot of emotion behind it. I'm now worried I've overloaded everyone with emotion and drama with these past couple of chapters. The next chapter will be a small break-like chapter. Still some zombies, but not out the wazoo like this chapter. Also I wasn't originally intending on having Nicole join the gang, but well…people just started dying and before I knew it everyone **_**was**_** dead except her. So, now the Z-Team has a new member: Nicole!  
Now, the gang is off to a museum. Wait…haven't I used a museum once before? (epic foreshadowing!)**


	13. Grove Museum

Alan hummed as he rolled the van down the freeway at three in the morning, Doc sitting next to him. In the back, the three girls were decorating hair. Doc and Alan turned to each other with similar, smug smiles on their faces before turning back to the road ahead.

"You know," Jamie began as he poked his head up in the front seat. Alan and Doc tried not to laugh at the sight of Jamie's hair braided, put into a small ponytail, twisted into a knot, and an annoying strand of hair hanging in his face that wouldn't stay up. "I honest to _GOD_ hate you both."

"Hey, you're the one who decided to have such long hair," Doc replied smugly, pulling his glasses off to clean them on his shirt.

"Can't you talk to Nicole," Jamie whispered. "Tell her to leave _my_ hair alone?"

"You have the best hair for all the styling," Doc said, his tone patronizing and mocking. "Just grin and bear it."

"I have an idea," Maria shouted. The black haired girl soon jumped on Jamie's back, a devious sneer on her face.

"Please tell me we're getting close to the next military outpost," Jamie frightfully pleaded before being yanked into the back of the van.

"We have been traveling for a few days now," Alan stated. "How close are we exactly?" Doc shrugged, opening the glove box to get the laptop which was charging until that moment. His fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up a map on screen.

"We should be there by tomorrow morning." From the back, Jamie groaned loudly before being smacked in the back of the head by Maria. "In all honestly I don't see the point," Doc murmured lowly. "That crazy ninja woman is probably going to get there before us and clear the place out."

"I don't get it. Who would want survivors wiped out completely? I thought that survivors were supposed to be getting saved. Not shot on sight."

"I don't know and I don't care," Doc replied bitterly. "I just want to avoid them at all costs. I just hope we get to the museum before those crazy bastards do so we can get in, get out, and leave."

"Awe yeah, just like my Saturday nights," Alan exclaimed, raising his hand up for Doc to five him. The blonde simply looked at his bulky companion with an indifferent expression before turning his attention back to the road. "Stupid four-eyes…" Someone smacked the back of Alan's head, causing him to twitch forward. "OW!"

Nicole poked her head between the two seats, smiling at Alan, "Don't talk that way about your elders."

"Right, forgot just how old Doc was."

"I'm thirty," Doc snapped. He turned to Nicole, pointing his finger in her face, "And you're the same age as me."

"I'm almost three years younger than you, Richard," Nicole replied with a taunting smile.

"Hey, that means I've got a good chance of hooking up with you!" Nicole and Doc both glared at Alan, who cringed away with a nervous smile. "It's a joke, calm down." Alan looked back to the road, a sly smirk on his face. "You two certainly seem made for each other after all…" Nicole punched Alan in the arm and moved back to the back before Doc also punched his friend in the arm. "DOUBLE OW! The fuck man?"

"Awe, shut up you baby," Doc replied, leaning back into his seat a bit.

Jamie groaned as he tried to pull the knots out of his hair. He cried out loudly before whirling his head around to Zoey who gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry…"

"Be gentler please," Jamie replied. The brash brunette looked up to Maria and Nicole, both of whom were further towards the front, talking to each other as well as Alan and Doc. "At least you're helping me get my hair straight. Unlike _some_ people!"

"She's twelve," Zoey said with a roll of her eyes. "She makes messes and doesn't clean them up. And Nicole has to go through the whole bonding experience like I did."

"She seems to be bonding a lot with Maria," Jamie whispered as he got another knot out of the tangled mess on his head. "I find that a little suspicious."

"Maybe she wanted kids, jerk," Zoey replied, smacking Jamie lightly upside the head. "Or maybe Maria is the most relatable person in this group for her."

Jamie stroked his chin, a thoughtful look on his face, "A little suspicious…" Zoey chuckled as she rolled her eyes once more.

"The infection must DIE!" Alan smacked the steering wheel repeatedly while thrashing his head every which way to the song he dubbed 'The Z-Team's theme song.' Doc leaned forward and turned the music down, as it was nearly deafening him. "What are you, an old man?" Alan turned the radio back up, louder than before, as he continued to head bang away at the heavy metal.

"Some people are trying to have civil conversations, Alan," Doc snapped.

"Yeah, I'm sure Nicole would LOVE to talk to you instead of Maria there." Doc looked back, realizing that the two black haired girls were talking away. Doc wondered how they blocked out the loud rock music that people could probably hear in Australia. Alan let out a yawn almost as loud as the music before smacking his lips, "Doc you might have to take over after awhile. I'm getting sleepy as hell."

"You fall asleep at the wheel and kill us all, I swear to god I'll murder you," Doc snapped. Alan rolled his eyes then slowly pulled the van over. The bulky survivor and the male doctor got out of the vehicle.

Nicole looked over as Doc got out, unaware of the smile on her face. Maria, smirking deviously, poked Nicole's arm, snapping her out of her trance. Nicole looked at Maria for a moment before averting her eyes and placed a hand on her flustered cheek. The young black-haired girl giggled, causing her older counterpart to glare playfully at her.

Doc got in the driver's side as Alan slumped over into the passenger's seat. The van moved back down the road.

* * *

Williams murmured as he typed away on the computer in Grove Museum. "This is impossible!"

"Williams," a voice questioned. The scientist looked up at the face of the Director on the screen. "What's taking so long?"

"The data base, it's somehow been wiped clean! I can't find any files anywhere! Someone might as well of taken a shotgun to this damn thing!"

"Williams, I want those files. Each military database has a fallback cache. This is the only place left within infected territory that could have a fallback. Those files have to be somewhere."

"I'm telling you, they're not here Director, sir!"

"And I'm telling you: get those files, or else you'll be the first test subject for that new strain of virus you made." The Director pressed a button and the screen went black.

"Damn it," Williams shouted. He almost regretted letting Diana die at Dead End. If she were still alive, maybe she could take the fall for this.

* * *

The sun started to rise in the distance, causing Doc to groan and shield his eyes. He looked over to Alan, who was snoring soundly. The blonde rolled his eyes, knowing that the others were undoubtedly asleep as well. Doc felt something lightly touch his arm, causing him to tense up slightly. He looked over, seeing Nicole leaning up with a smile on her face.

"Hey there," the female doctor said.

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"You think you're the only one who spent late nights working at the hospital," Nicole questioned with a smirk. Doc smiled back at her before turning to the road. "If you're getting tired I could drive."

"I'm fine. Thanks for the offer though. It won't take more than an hour to get the museum anyway." Nicole smiled then rested her head on Doc's arm. The blonde smiled to himself while keeping his eyes on the road. "Is that the museum?" Doc looked down at Nicole, following her gaze that drifted to the right. Sure enough, there was a large building with a sign out front that read 'Grove Museum.' The two doctors looked to each other for a prolonged moment. Doc started turning the van towards the museum while Nicole moved back to wake people up.

"Wake up," Doc snapped, punching Alan's arm. The former cage fighter groaned noisily as he jerked himself awake. "We're almost at the museum."

"Good! I was going stir-crazy! I love me some zombies!" Doc gave his partner a questioning look before shaking his head. The survivor grabbed his machete and a pair of pistols from the glove box. He put one in the holster on his thigh and handed the second to Doc.

"Maria," Nicole whispered, gently shaking the girl. "Maria, wake up." The black haired girl groaned as she rolled over on her side. "Maria: Jamie and Zoey are making out." This got the girl to shoot up straight, eyes wide with shock as she scanned the area. Nicole chuckled whenever Maria realized she had been duped. "We're almost at the museum."

"You woke me up for that?" Nicole smiled and pointed behind Maria. The little girl turned her head and a smile immediately crept onto her face. Jamie was sitting up while Zoey rested her head on his shoulder. Maria turned to Nicole with a smile, "Alright, you win."

The two black-haired women moved over towards the two brunettes. If she had a camera, Maria would've taken a picture. A thought occurred as to why they didn't have a camera in the first place. "Guys, wake up," Nicole said, lightly shaking both of them. "We're almost at the museum."

Zoey groaned, lifting her head up along with Jamie. The two looked to each other with the same sleepy expression. Jamie bobbed his head up, arching his brows to greet Zoey. The female brunette returned the gesture before turning to Maria. The black-haired girl seemed a bit annoyed by their lack of affection. The two brunettes continued to stare at Maria before they stood up and walked towards the front.

"Those two are going to get such an ass kicking when I'm older," Maria muttered.

Jamie leaned forward between the two front seats, seeing the museum set out in front of them. He leaned to the side, allowing Zoey to see it as well. A smile came across her face as hope welled up inside her, "Please be there guys…"

Doc narrowed his eyes and quickly pulled off to the side, stopping the vehicle for a moment. The other survivors looked at the blonde skeptically for a moment as he cupped his chin in his hand for a moment. "Doc, what the hell are you doing?" Alan asked.

"Think about it. Each time we've been at an outpost like this, there's either been a new type of infected, a mad scientist, or an army of troops led by a crazy ninja woman. What are the chances that this museum won't have the same type of welcoming committee?"

"If there is a welcoming committee like that, then Bill, Francis, and Louis won't be there," Zoey muttered bitterly. "But that doesn't mean I can't find out something about where they went."

"Yeah, but I say we do some scouting before we rush in there headfirst. If we don't, we might end up as target practice of as infected lunchmeat."

"Do you have a plan as to how we're going to do this," Jamie asked. "A team of six moving together is going to be suspicious."

"Two teams of two," Doc replied. "Maria and Alan will stay with the car, you and I will scout the front door. Nicole and Zoey, being such skilled snipers that they are, can go to some tall building. I'd say…that one," Doc pointed to an apartment complex that was a few stories higher than the museum, "And they can look down and see if there's any movement."

"Do you have a way to keep in contact, oh-smart-one?" Alan asked.

"There are some headsets in the back there." Jamie and Maria turned around and started looking through all the storage spaces. Soon enough, they both pulled out a group of headsets and tossed them to Doc. The blonde grabbed it and put it around his head, turning the radio on. Immediately, Doc's eyes widened in surprise, getting confused looks from everyone else. "Oh shit…"

"Crazy soldiers bent on killing survivors," Alan asked.

"No," Doc murmured. "I could save money on my car insurance by switching to—yes crazy soldiers you idiot!"

"Where are they?" Jamie questioned, turning his own headset on.

"They're all over the museum. They're talking about finding some databases…something about a hard drive…I'm not sure." The van's back doors suddenly flew open, causing the survivors to whirl their heads around. Several dozen soldiers with their weapons aimed at the survivors stood ready to kill. "Fuck…"

* * *

Williams scowled as he continued to search in vain for the military files, "Damn, damn, damn, damn!"

"Sir," a soldier spoke.

"Did you find the hard drive?"

"No sir."

"Then why are you here?"

Alan grunted and turned his head, "Watch those fucking paws buddy!" Williams' head popped up at the voice. He turned around, seeing his soldiers escorting six survivors into the room.

"Well, this is an interesting surprise. You're the survivors who gave Diana so much trouble at Elliot's hospital."

"Diana," Alan repeated in bewilderment.

"Crazy-ninja woman," Jamie replied, keeping his hardened gaze on Williams. "So you're connected with her, which means that you want to kill us too."

"My more immediate concern is finding a few files that my superior wishes to have. But eventually, yes. You will die."

"Comforting," Doc murmured.

"Oh, I do have one question for you though. How did you survive all those zombies I released at Dead End? It would be next to impossible for a highly trained individual to survive all those infected I released, let alone a rag-tag team of misfits."

"That 'highly trained' bull-shit isn't true ya know," Alan replied. "That crazy ninja-woman got fucked up! I plowed the Z-Team's van right into that bitch's face!"

A sneer formed across Williams' mouth, "Well, that's good news. Good news indeed." The survivors looked at each other in confusion.

"Isn't she your partner?" Zoey asked. "Why did you want her dead?"

"She was a bit…unstable. Getting her out of the picture means a bigger payday for old Williams."

"Payday? You crazy bastards are trying to make more of these zombies," Doc screamed. "What payday could you possibly get from this nonsense?"

"Oh ye, of such short-sightedness. Then again, I suppose we have Elliot to thank for that don't we?" Doc huffed, ignoring the crack at his impaired vision. Williams turned around, clasping his hands behind his back. "From what I've gathered from Elliot's files however, you would be Doc. You managed to save that little girl," Williams turned to Maria, "From turning into a zombie. Quite impressive actually. Men, kill these survivors and lock the girl away so I can study her later."

"That sounds _so_ wrong," Alan exclaimed.

"Alan," Doc snapped, "He's going to kill us you idiot!"

"Oh…right…" The survivors started fighting against the soldiers as they were pushed away while Maria was being carried away.

"Let go, you stupid monkey!" Maria shouted, fighting against her captors grip with all her might. "Zoey, Jamie! Somebody save me!"

"We will," Nicole called out.

"Just try not to become all zombie-like until then," Alan joked before being shoved into the next room. Williams sighed before turning back to his computer and typed away.

* * *

"Next to the taxi," one sniper said, looking at a zombie through his scope. In a second, the zombie's head was blown away. "Nice one! You call, I shoot."

"_Alright…the one next to the flashing car. If you hit it, the car alarm goes off and every zombie in the neighborhood will be down on us like a—GUAH!"_

"Hey, you there?" The sniper looked up from his scope towards the building his friend was at. He then looked back through his scope and saw his friend nowhere in sight. "Oh shit!" The man grabbed his radio and put it to his mouth. Before he could say a word, he heard the clicking of a gun behind him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The man released his finger from the button and moved the radio away from his mouth. The radio was taken from the man before a bullet was put through his head. The sniper's face smacked against the windowsill before he slumped over to the side in a heap. Former corporal Smith huffed as he looked down at the body before raising the radio up to his mouth. "Snipers taken care of Diana."

"_Good. Now we have a straight shot to Williams. Meet me by the front doors immediately."_

* * *

The survivors all stayed silent, giving glances back and forth to each other. Jamie nodded and quickly spun around. Alan roared as he dove backwards, taking two of the soldiers down to the ground. Nicole spun around, throwing her leg into the side of one man's head and knocking him to the ground. Zoey threw her head back into a man's nose, spun and kneed him in the groin. Jamie tripped one man's feet out from under him, kneed a second in the stomach, then smashed the first's face into the ground.

"Run," Jamie shouted. The survivors bolted down the hallway as a few soldiers started to get up with their guns aimed.

"Get some bitches," Alan shouted.

"Move faster you idiot!"

"Ah, keep your pants on Doc!" Jamie suddenly skidded to a stop and turned around, running the opposite direction. The others looked at their brash leader quizzically before they turned back around, seeing a horde of zombies coming for them. "Oh shit!"

The survivors ran back towards the soldiers who stood up with their guns raised. Jamie fell to his knees and slid forward. The other survivors followed in kind, lowering their heads as the soldiers started gunning down infected. As the last of the zombies fell, the survivors looked up at their saviors, who slowly aimed their guns down at them.

"Get up and don't do that again," the head soldier shouted. The survivors all mentally kicked themselves before getting up on their feet.

* * *

Diana hummed, almost merrily, to herself. A pair of soldiers entered the room, stopping to gasp in awe at her presence. The assassin gave a small gesture to the two men, continuing to walk forward. One of them aimed their gun up at her. Diana hurled the blade forward, stabbing the tip of it into the man's chest. The soldier groaned and paused, allowing Diana to run forward.

The second soldier turned his head and aimed his weapon, only for it to be kicked out of his grasp. Diana grabbed the knife sticking out of the man's chest, yanked it free and pulled her leg away from the other soldier in one motion. The man screamed as the knife was pulled from his chest. Diana spun around, kicking the soldier's feet out from behind him. The injured man flew up off the ground and slammed hard on his back. Diana spun around, stabbing the knife into the throat of the second soldier before he could grab a pistol. The assassin took the pistol from the man, spun the opposite direction to wrench her knife out of the man's throat. He fell over dead, gurgling as blood gushed from his neck. Diana looked around, making sure the coast was clear and there were no more soldiers. Finally, she pulled the trigger of the pistol, putting a bullet through the other soldier's head.

She dropped the gun on his chest and continued forward, humming to herself once again as she cleaned her knife off and put it away. "Williams, Williams, Williams," she murmured to herself. "Where are you Williams…?" Diana felt a strong urge to reach for her blade again just from speaking the man's name.

* * *

"Line up," one soldier barked.

"Oh this is civilized," Doc muttered angrily. "This is such crap. I always thought I'd go out swinging. Now with my hands cuffed behind my back."

"I knew if I had to go, I'd go down biting a Tank," Alan exclaimed. "But _No_, I have to get shot!"

"Will both of you shut up and take it like a man," Zoey murmured in defeat. The soldiers stood across from the survivors and aimed their guns at them. "Just so you know: I love all you guys."

"Ready. Aim. F-," The last word was cut off from a distant explosion followed by a crashing sound. The soldiers and survivors turned their heads towards the back wall. The soldiers looked to each other quietly. They didn't want to risk running into anymore infected.

The survivors gave uneasy glances at each other, wondering what was going on outside. Before anyone else could think, a deafening explosion went off behind the wall closest to the soldiers. The survivors cried out, closing their eyes and turning away as dust and pebbles flew towards them.

"Get the keys," Jamie screamed. The survivors ran into the dust, barely able to see past their own noses.

One soldier groaned as he attempted to get up, but was suddenly pulled back by a Smoker. A second soldier looked up in shock and was then tackled by a Hunter.

Jamie knelt down next to the head soldier and tried getting the keys from his waist. Finally, he got them and started fumbling with his cuffs.

"What the fuck was that," Alan shouted.

"That was an explosion, Alan," Doc screamed. "Fuck my ears are still ringing!"

"What?" Alan called out.

"I said my fucking ears are ringing!"

"Will both of you shut up," Zoey yelled. "My head is killing me!" Jamie rolled his eyes at his teammates before finally unlocking his cuffs. He looked up and handed them to Nicole. The former female doctor undid her cuffs in the blink of an eye then ran off.

"Nick," a deep voice shouted. "Nick where are you! There are still people in there!" Jamie's head perked up.

"It couldn't be," Jamie muttered to himself. The brunette got up and headed further into the dust cloud.

Nicole undid Alan and Zoey's cuffs. The bulky survivor rubbed his wrists a bit, "Who the fuck blew up the god damn wall? I swear to god I'm going to kick their asses!"

"Alan," Doc shouted.

"What?"

"Oh shi—you can hear me?"

"I can now!" Nicole ran towards Doc's voice. "My ears are still ringing like a mother fucker!"

"Hey, don't shoot," a voice called out. Alan and Zoey shook their heads and looked towards the sound of the voice. "I'm friendly!"

"We're missing one," Zoey shouted before coughing.

"God damn it," Alan and some other deep voice shouted at the exact same time. A pistol shot rang out, followed by the shriek of a Hunter.

"Holy piss," the conman shouted. "Little bitch I'm gonna kill!" Alan cocked a curious brow before a wet, pink appendage flew past his head.

"Fucking Smoker," Alan cried out, jumping a bit at the sudden lash of the muscle. "I'm gonna rip that god damn tongue out!"

Nicole undid Doc's cuffs quickly, urging him to stay low to the ground. The two doctors moved across the ground and through the dust. They both couldn't help but wonder how the dust hadn't settled by now.

"Nick," a deep voice shouted just before he coughed. "God damn it where are you!"

"Who the fuck is that," Doc said loudly. "Hello? Who the hell are you?"

"We're survivors," the voice from before called out. "There's a Hunter and Smoker somewhere so watch your fire!"

"WHAT," Alan shouted. Doc and Nicole rolled their eyes before continuing to creep forward.

"Nobody shoot," the deep voice ordered. "Everyone just get out of the damn smoke!" Zoey and Alan moved towards their upper right, keeping their eyes and ears peeled for any infected.

Zoey looked around carefully for anything out of the ordinary. She heard a low, recognizable growling that came from a Hunter. Zoey tensed up, her eyes darting around wildly. Suddenly, she saw a shadow running through the dust. She recognized him as Jamie, instantly smiling in relief. She opened her mouth to call out for him, but Jamie suddenly jerked back, blood flying out from his hip before he hit the ground. Zoey's eyes widened in horror before she shrieked his name:

"JAMIE!"

Doc and Nicole appeared out of nowhere, rushing towards Jamie. They froze when they heard a Hunter shrieking. The two saw the Hunter fly past their field of sight before continuing towards Jamie.

"God damn it," the deep voice shouted. Alan looked to his side, seeing an antique golf club lying next to him. Before he even wanted to question it, Alan grabbed the club and ran towards the sound of the infected.

"FORE!" Alan swung the golf club upward, smashing it through the Hunter's ribs to get several satisfying cracks. The Hunter shrieked in pain and rolled off its heavyset black victim before lying flat on its stomach. "Suck it," Alan shouted before bashing the zombie's face in. He lifted the golf club above his head and cheered, "Ten points for Alan! I'm the greatest!" His celebration was cut short when a long, slimy pink muscle wrapped around his chest.

"Uh—OH!" The Smoker jerked Alan back dragging him through the smoke and dust.

"Hold on kid," the large man shouted as he chased after Alan.

"I swear I'm gonna beat you to shit you, goddamn Smoker," Alan shouted. Gunfire rang out and the Smoker's tongue went limp. Alan grumbled as he tried to pull the tongue off his body. The new survivor ran up, knelt down and started to help him.

"You alright son," the heavyset man asked.

"Peachy," Alan replied. The buff survivor looked up, seeing an unfamiliar, human face. "Holy—you're not a zombie!"

"Thanks for that," the man said with a joking tone.

"No, no I mean you're a survivor! I thought we were the only ones still alive!"

"Don't we all." The large man threw the tongue off Alan then helped him to his feet.

* * *

Nicole and Doc moved Jamie into the next room, and Zoey closed the door behind them. "Is he okay?" Zoey asked, her voice trembling. "Please, for the love of god, tell me he's going to be okay…"

"My fucking hip," Jamie groaned. Zoey's face twisted in confusion. She looked at the boy's hip, seeing blood seeping from between his hands.

"Well, he might not be able to thrust properly for awhile, but he'll live."

"Yeah, just joke about the fact I'M IN FUCKING PAIN!"

"You've taken worse than this you drama queen," Doc replied, pulling Jamie's pants down a bit to reveal the wound. "Is there any medical equipment in this room?"

"On the wall behind you," Nicole replied. Doc turned and headed towards the big red box hanging off the wall. Zoey was relieved, and slightly embarrassed. She thought Jamie was going to die, but he was only grazed across the hip. The brunette was surprised with how serious Doc and Nicole seemed to be at the moment. She never really pictured either of them as doctors until now.

"Zoey, honey, do you mind leaving for a moment," Nicole asked as softly as possible. Zoey nodded, surprised that the question didn't bother her more. She turned around to the door, anger welling up inside of her as she knew that the person outside that door shot Jamie in the first place.

The brunette stormed up to the door and shoved it open violently and immediately started screaming, "Who the HELL shot Jamie?"

The door closed behind Zoey. Nicole looked up at Doc who was getting a syringe out, "Is she going to kill someone out there?"

"It's likely I suppose," Doc replied. "I personally hope she beats up Alan a little bit. He's had it coming."

"PAIN!" Doc shook his head, focusing back on Jamie. The blonde gently stabbed the syringe into Jamie's arm and injected its contents into his arm. The brunette allowed his head to fall back and let out a sigh of relief as his pain started melting away. "That's some fast acting stuff…"

"You weren't in that much pain to begin with you big baby."

"I could shoot you if you'd like to compare," Jamie offered, his tone sarcastic.

"No thanks," Doc replied, flicking the younger man on the forehead. "You should be fine once we clean the wound a bit and patch it up. It might hurt if you put too much weight on it though…but you probably won't listen to me anyway, just like the last ten thousand times I've given you advice." Jamie shrugged then turned his head as Nicole started nursing his wound.

"Don't you have to take the bullet out or something first," Jamie asked.

"The bullet just grazed you idiot," Doc said with a roll of his eyes.

"The reason it hurts so much is because it also grazed your bone," Nicole added, looking up at Doc. "And bone pain is the worse type of pain there is right Richard?" Doc crossed his arms before he shrugged and turned to Jamie.

"Alright, maybe you're not such a drama queen." Jamie looked at Nicole who was finishing up the cleaning process before he turned his head back to Doc.

"So who shot me exactly?" Doc shrugged in response, watching Nicole as she grabbed a cotton pad and some medical tape. "Would you care to find out for me sir?" The blonde rolled his eyes then headed towards the door, "And tell Zoey she can come in if she hasn't killed anyone already!" Doc waved dismissively before opening the door with a loud creak.

"Who're the new guys?" the Doc asked the occupants of the other room before the door shut behind him.

"So how is it Misses Doc?"

"It should be fine," Nicole answered as she taped over the cotton pad. "Just don't mess with it and you should be fine. Unlike Richard, I will hurt you if you don't follow my instructions."

"Why don't you just call him Doc? Everyone else does."

"Everyone else wasn't his former fiancé." Jamie shrugged in agreement. "Alright, you don't have to lie down anymore if you don't want to. But don't overdo it either." Jamie nodded as he sat up slowly, holding his wounded side before throwing his legs off the side of the table.

"I owe you one, Nicole," Jamie thanked with a smile.

"From what I've heard, you're more than likely to repay the favor in some life threatening way or another." Jamie laughed, as he slowly removed his arm from his side. Nicole and her patient turned their heads to the sound of the door creaking open once again.

Zoey entered the room, seeing Jamie sitting up, holding his side painfully with his shirt off. "Is everyone out there still alive?"

"For now," Zoey murmured bitterly. "The guy who shot you…was apparently your uncle, Nick."

Jamie's eyes widened in surprise, "My uncle shot me?"

"What type of uncle shoots his nephew," Nicole questioned.

"Tell me about it!" Zoey turned from Nicole to Jamie, who was now deep in thought. She crossed her arms, waiting for her fellow brunette to say something.

"I want to see him," Jamie softly said. He looked up at Zoey, a smile on his face, "Tell him to leave the gun at the door though." Zoey sighed, knowing she couldn't say no before nodding. She turned around and walked to the door.

"Nick," she called out, "Jamie wants to see you. And this time, don't bring a gun." Zoey walked in the room, standing in front of Jamie, "I can still kick his ass if you want?"

"That's fine," Jamie laughed, patting his friend's shoulder. "Thanks for the support though." Zoey still wasn't sure about this, but moved and stood next to Jamie's table regardless.

"Let's just try to keep it somewhat brief," Zoey added softly. "We still need to find Maria and kick that crazy guy's ass."

"Or in Maria's case: his shins." The two women smiled at the joke. Jamie turned his head towards the door, waiting for his uncle to walk through and greet him.

A few seconds, very long seconds for Jamie, passed before the door opened and a man entered the room. Nick hadn't changed much from what Jamie remembered. His hair was the same, just a little shorter, he was in desperate need of a shower and some shaving cream. He wore a white suit, Jamie remember it being his favorite, now torn and covered in about eight different types of filth. Jamie smiled, noticing his uncle was a bit tense from this meeting.

"Hey Uncle Nick…" Nick stood there for a moment in silence. A pause lingered in the air for a moment before he finally replied.

"Hey kiddo…" A long pause filled the air between them. Finally, Nick moved across the room in a flash and hugged his long-lost nephew as tightly as he could. Jamie closed his eyes and returned the embrace. As she watched, Zoey felt some sympathy for Nick instead of blinding fury.

"So…" Jamie began, a smug grin forming across his face, "shooting people huh?"

"I'm sorry Jamie," Nick sputtered out, releasing his nephew to step back. "I-I just, I didn't know it was-,"

"I'm joking," Jamie replied, holding his hand up to stop his panicking uncle. "What're you doing here? _How_ did you get here?"

"Well…me and the others…just sort of stumbled the right way I guess." Jamie cocked his brow up curiously. "Well…it's a long fucking story." Nick once again pulled Jamie in for a powerful hug. "I'm just so glad that you're okay Jamie…"

"You too, Uncle Nick…"

"Where's Edward," Nick asked, leaning out of the hug to look at his youngest nephew's face. "Is he here somewhere too?" Jamie's face fell before he let out a prolonged, heavy sigh. Nick's eyes widened in horror, "No…not Ed…"

"He died making sure I got away," Jamie whispered softly.

Nick ran his hand through his hair, stepping back as he let this information soak in. "Son of a…" Nick left the last word hanging up in the air as he leaned back against the nearest wall. Jamie looked upon his uncle in silence, waiting for him to respond. The brunette jumped when Nick screamed at the top of his lungs, whirled around and started punching the wall he was leaning against.

Nicole and Zoey flinched and their eyes widened as they watched the conman wail on the wall. Jamie quickly got up and grabbed his uncle's arm before he could punch the wall again. Nick stopped screaming, scowling angrily as his arm shook in rage.

"Uncle Nick…"

"Damn it," the man murmured. After a few moments, Nick's arm relaxed, allowing Jamie to release him. "How long has he been…?"

"About a month now I guess," Jamie replied. "Alan, the big guy out there, was a friend of Ed's. I met up with him, and we've been sticking together ever since. The others we just befriended along the way."

"Edward…your mother is going to fucking kill me."

"You had nothing to do with it, Nick," Jamie snapped defensively. "Ed died to make sure I got away safely. Hell, you had no way of knowing either of us were alive until today!" Nick groaned, running both hands through his hair. Jamie sighed before turning his head to Zoey and Nicole, "You guys go on ahead and get Maria. I'll stay here with Uncle Nick and-,"

"I'm good," Nick replied suddenly. The other three survivors turned towards the man who moved his head up at them. "If you need my help, then you better believe I'll fucking help you."

"Uncle Nick I-,"

"I've been gone way too long Jamie. If I was around more maybe then Ed would still be here. I'm not going to stand around while my last nephew throws himself in danger. I'd rather get torn apart by a Witch than have to tell your mother that both of her sons are dead."

"If you knew half the stuff we encounter Uncle Nick, a Witch would be your last concern." Jamie headed for the door as Nick opened it.

"What about your mother?" The brunette paused for a moment in the doorway, looking up and the ceiling to ponder this question.

"She's still number one." Nick and Jamie laughed, putting their arm around the other as they exited the room. Zoey and Nicole shared similar smiles as they followed closely behind them.

Jamie looked at three unfamiliar faces with confusion and curiosity. Nick removed his arm from behind his nephew then walked to the three new survivors, "Jamie, this is Coach, Rochelle, and Ellis. Guys, this is my nephew Jamie."

"Nice ta meet ya buddy," Ellis greeted with a heavy southern accent, a wave, and a goofy smile on his face. Jamie smiled and nodded to the southern boy.

"I'm Coach," the heavyset black man said, stepping forward with his hand held out. "We've already been introduced to everyone else."

"Nice to meet you Coach," Jamie replied, shaking the large man's hand.

"Nick, did your nephew here take all the good looks out of the family or something," Rochelle asked in a teasing tone. Jamie rubbed the back of his neck, a faint blush heating up his face.

"Please, he wishes he was as good looking as me," Nick boasted, smacking Jamie's shoulder.

"And your face wishes it was as good looking as my ass," Jamie sniped back. Coach busted out in laughter, jabbing Nick in the chest with his fist. Jamie snickered, lightly elbowing his uncle, who was trying his best to suppress a smile on his face. "All joking aside: we've got places to be. You all mind helping us find a friend of ours?"

"No problem at all," Rochelle answered with a smile.

"No zombie is gonna stop us from kicking some serious ass," Coach added with a grin.

"Zombies are the least of our worries big man," Alan exclaimed, smacking Coach on the shoulder. "You'll find that out all too quickly."

"What'd ya'll have to worry about besides zombies," Ellis asked as he followed the others towards the exit.

* * *

Williams scowled, pounding his fists against the computer in front of him, "Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!"

"…Williams…?" The scientist yelped as he jumped in fear. While he was pounding on the computer, he accidentally answered a call from the Director. "I take it you haven't retrieved the files I requested…?"

"Sir, you must understand that they aren't here! There are no backups, there are no files whatsoever! There's no place they could've gone without…" Williams' eyes widened with realization. "No…no, no, no, NO! Dead End! The files have to be back at Dead End!"

"As if I recall correctly, you said that it was overwhelmed with infected and all survivors were killed, right," the Director mused.

"That's half true," a voice called out. Williams whirled around with a fear stricken expression while the Director looked back with a curious gaze.

Diana jumped down from the ceiling, smashing two of the soldiers guarding Williams into the ground. She threw her leg up, knocking the weapon of one soldier out of his hands. Two more soldiers ran towards Diana, their weapons aimed at her while two more stood guard next to Williams.

Diana turned around, blocking a punch from the soldier she just disarmed with ease before throwing a powerful strike across his face. The man fell to the ground in a heap before Diana turned around. The other two men stopped and knelt down, their weapons aimed at her while the two soldiers guarding Williams also aimed their weapons at her. Diana huffed before whipping out two pistols, firing two bullets from each. The men groaned before they all fell to the side in a lifeless mass, only one man to Williams' right still alive with a bullet to the chest. Diana twirled her pistols around before holstering them on her waist.

"D-Director," Williams stammered, stepped back as Diana approached. "She's gone rogue! Diana has gone mad!"

"Only when people leave me to die, Conrad," Diana replied with malice. "If anything, he's the traitor dear Director."

"Don't listen to her! You saw how she killed those men in cold blood right before your very eyes! She's not to be trusted!"

"You _do_ realize that I could kill you regardless of what he 'orders' me to do right?" Diana moved in closer while Williams stammered in fear. "I don't take very kindly to people betraying me, Williams. Do you know what happened to me at Dead End? I got punched, whacked in the face with a gun, kicked in the shins, and hit with a flying van. Now, needless to say, I would've been angry about you just betraying me, but with the combination of those survivor brats beating the living daylights out of me, and getting away _again_, I'm more than ready to take all that anger and frustration out on _you_."

"Director sir," Williams shouted, looking up at the screen, "You have to stop her!"

"I'm sorry, I was just so curious about our little friends who like to eavesdrop," the Director replied. Diana twirled around, aiming her pistol at the doorway as Jamie, Alan, and Zoey popped out, aiming their weapons at the assassin. "So, you're the survivors who have managed to escape Diana twice now?"

"That'd be us," Jamie replied smugly. "Now what would that make us, Zoey?"

"Big damn heroes boss."

"Ain't we just? And who might you be, oh-ominous-one on the big screen?"

"You may call me the Director. Everyone else does."

"Man, everyone with these fucking titles," Alan exclaimed. "First Doc, now Coach, now we got some guy named Director. Can I have my own title?"

"You have one already. It's dumbass, dumbass," Jamie sniped. "So are you gentlemen working for some crazy terrorist group, or CEDA, or what?"

"I'm afraid that information is…classified. Diana, be a dear and finish your job!" The Director emphasized each syllable of the last three words. Diana sneered then took a step forward before a bullet whizzed by her. The assassin stopped and looked up, seeing Nicole and Doc on the upper walkways.

Four more survivors appeared to the side entrances, Coach and Rochelle to the assassin's left, Nick and Ellis to her right. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Diana muttered.

"I told ya'll that someone was behind the infection," Ellis stated happily. "I knew this shit didn't happen naturally."

"So now we've gotta shoot people and zombies," Coach murmured. "This just don't seem right."

"Trust me big man: this seems oh-so right to me," Alan replied, keeping his eyes and guns focused on Diana.

"Someone seems to be falling behind on her duties," Williams mocked.

"Can I kill _him_ at least," Diana asked, turning her head to the Director.

Nicole whistled sharply, getting the assassin and scientist's attention, "Hey, pay attention to us! Where's Maria?"

"The little girl," Williams asked. "How should I know? I told my men to throw her somewhere out of the way for future studying."

"Wrong answer buddy," Zoey said, focusing her scope on Williams.

"If you want him dead, at least let me do it."

"Diana," the Director hissed. "Finish the job now!"

"It'll be difficult," the assassin whispered to herself. "Smith!"

Nicole and Doc turned their heads to the sound of a clicking gun, seeing a pair of soldiers come up behind them. Coach, Ellis, Nick, and Rochelle were also caught from behind by Diana's soldiers. Jamie, Zoey, and Alan quickly turned, but were too late as a man with two pistols along with two soldiers already had their sights set on them.

"You," Zoey said to the only soldier without a helmet. "You're Jeff Smith right?"

"That's right sweetheart," Jeff replied, his eyes and a pistol on Jamie. "Sorry if you feel like this is a knife in the back, but I've got to go with the winning team."

"You son of a bitch," Alan seethed.

"Impressive Diana," the Director praised. "I want them dead. And while you're at it, kill Williams."

"WHAT?" The scientist turned his attention to the screen as the Director leaned back, running a hand through the side of his hair.

"I've given you ample time to retrieve the data I requested, yet you haven't retrieved it. Then I find out you betrayed Diana and tried to leave her to die. It appears that without Diana your usefulness is quite limited, and since you can't be trusted as her partner, that makes you expendable. Diana, if you please."

"NO!" Williams pulled out a vial from his coat pocket. The Director raised his hand up to stop Diana, who froze in place. "You'll lose this virus if you so much as lay a finger on me! You think you could run this little plot without me? You'd be nothing if it wasn't for me you pompous fool! I'm the brains of this operation! You supplied the money, and Diana the muscle, and I'm the one who does all of the difficult work!"

"Trust me Williams: dealing with you is more than difficult," Diana replied.

"Shut up! You think you're so damn special! The fucking princess of CEDA! The little bitch who gets whatever she wants! Well not this time!"

"Princess of CEDA," Nicole whispered, looking over at Doc.

"Wait…it can't be…"

"Guys," Jamie exclaimed, getting the attention of the conspirators in front of him. "I'd love to learn more about this, but your boy aiming his pistol at my face is a little annoying, so." Jamie grabbed the pistol in Jeff's hand, twisted his arm to the side and then dove on top of him.

Alan knocked the gun out of his captor's hands and grabbed his neck with both hands. The soldier holding Zoey at gunpoint looked over in confusion before turning back to his hostage. Zoey grabbed the soldier by his shoulders and thrusted her knee into his groin. The man groaned, going cross eyed before falling over to his side. Zoey turned her head, seeing Diana turn around to aim her pistol at them. The brunette picked up the soldier's assault rifle and aimed it at Diana, firing a small burst.

The burst caused Diana and Williams to jump. The bullets hit the doorway above Coach and Rochelle. The survivors and soldiers flinched in excitement. Coach turned around and screamed in fury. One soldier got a massive fist to the face, knocking him flat on his back. The second one attempted to aim his gun, but Coach knocked the weapon up. The bullets ripped through the air harmlessly. Rochelle quickly ran up to the soldier on the ground and pressed her knee against this throat, cutting his airways off. Coach finally caused the soldier to throw his gun. The large man roared as he lifted the screaming soldier above his head. Coach tossed the soldier up in the air and stepped back, letting gravity slam him into the ground. Rochelle continued to push down on the man's throat until his arm stopped flailing about, and she was sure he was unconscious.

Nicole spun around, holding the rifle by its end. The barrel whipped a soldier across the face, causing him to cry out in pain. The second soldier turned to fire, but his arm was jerked back by Doc. The soldier looked at the blonde who smiled smugly. Doc slammed his face against the soldier's, disorienting him for a moment. The blonde then pulled the soldier around and threw him over the railing. The man screamed until he was silenced by a dull thud. Nicole held her rifle against the other soldier's throat, pressing him against the wall. The man quickly tired to reach for his pistol before Nicole released him. The soldier fell to his hands and knees, his pistol sliding out of his reach. He looked up, seeing Doc smiling down at him before the butt end of a rifle struck him across the face.

Diana turned to Zoey and Alan, both of whom were rushing towards her. The assassin scowled, more than ready to settle the score with this survivor. Before rushing at Zoey, Diana turned around and fired a shot in Williams' leg. The scientist cried out and fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding leg.

"Don't you even think about running off," Diana hissed. The assassin turned around just as Zoey speared her in the gut.

"Nick, we gotta help her," Ellis said.

"Overalls, there are two guys holding us at gunpoint," Nick reminded. "Tell me what the fuck we're supposed to do exactly." Ellis looked at Nick for a moment before shaking his head. Nick rolled his eyes and sighed. "NOW!"

The conman and mechanic turned around, pushing their captors' guns away from them. Simultaneously, they socked the soldiers in the face, causing them to stumble back. In unison once more they both strolled up and threw one last punch into the faces of the two soldiers, knocking them out. Nick let out a brief sigh of relief while Ellis chuckled. The two turned to each other and high fived one another before turning to the action.

* * *

Jamie threw a punch which Jeff blocked with both arms shielding his face. The former corporal then threw a kick at Jamie's midsection. The brunette caught his opponent's leg and screamed as he lifted Jeff up by his limb. Smith's eyes widened in shock before he was lifted off, and then slammed back onto the ground. Jamie quickly got on top of Jeff and started punching him over and over in the face. The former corporal once again shielded his face with both of his arms covering his face. Finally, Smith screamed as his arms shot straight forward, his hands latching to Jamie's throat. The brunette gasped in shock, then started fighting for air. Jeff sneered, pressing his thumbs down hard on Jamie's throat. The brunette attempted to pry the soldier's hands away from his neck before settling for a solid punch to the face. Jeff was thrown back to the ground, his grip loosening enough for Jamie to break free and roll away from him. The brunette panted heavily as Jeff slowly got off the ground, wiping the corner of his mouth.

"Stubborn little prick, aren't you," Jeff questioned. "I hope you're not too mad about the fact that my new boss killed Michelle."

"Oh you're going to regret saying that," Jamie replied, eyes widening in rage.

Jeff huffed, challenging Jamie with a wave of his fingers. The brunette screamed as he charged forward. Jeff threw a punch at Jamie's face, only for the brunette to duck under it. Jamie slammed his shoulder into Jeff's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Jamie roared as he lifted the man off of the ground and continued to run with him. The survivor finally slammed Jeff through a glass display, shattering the glass and destroying whatever was inside of it. Jamie held Jeff down with one hand and started punching him with the other. The former corporal's hand started searching for something, finally gripping a large piece of glass. Jeff blocked one of Jamie's punches and swung the piece of glass at the survivor. Jamie's eyes widened briefly before he jerked his head back, the tip of the glass barely grazing his cheek.

Jeff sneered, twirling the shard of glass around before rushing Jamie. The brunette knocked the former corporal's arm, throwing him off balance. Jamie grabbed Jeff's shoulders then rammed his knee into his stomach. Jeff cried out, lurching forward. Jamie screamed as he slammed his knee into the soldier's stomach again, and again. Jeff finally grabbed Jamie's leg, holding it against stomach. The soldier then threw Jamie to the side, nearly knocking the boy on his back. Jeff rushed forward, throwing an uppercut which Jamie narrowly dodged. The brunette thrusted his forehead against Jeff's nose, causing the former corporal to cry and stumble back in pain. Jamie walked up slowly, shaking his hands loose before clasping them together tightly. Jeff looked over to Jamie in shock, eyes wide in horror. Jamie threw his arms up, smashing his clamped fists into the bottom of Jeff's chin. The former corporal was lifted high off his feet by the force of the blow before landing hard on his back.

Jamie shook his hands out in pain, watching Jeff to make sure he was unconscious. The soldier groaned, but didn't stir at all. Jamie took that as his sign to join back with the others.

* * *

Diana ducked and twirled under Zoey's strike, kicking her in the side. The brunette cried out, but quickly grabbed Diana's leg and held her in place. The assassin seemed to pay no attention to this as she dodged Alan's punch and grabbed his arm. Diana slammed her palm into the side of Alan's head before throwing a powerful uppercut. The bulky survivor stumbled back, completely disoriented from the blow to the side of the head. Diana spun around and struck Zoey hard across the face. The brunette cried out as she fell to the ground. Diana turned, seeing a cautious Coach and Rochelle standing at the ready.

The assassin smiled in amusement, finding their caution to be almost adorable. As she took a step forward, Ellis screamed like a madman and pounced on Diana's back. The assassin cried out as she staggered forward. She screamed as she thrashed her body around to try and throw off the man-gone-Jockey on her back. Finally, she grabbed Ellis' wrists and in one fluid motion threw the mechanic off her back. Ellis screamed as he flew forward and landed hard on his back. He groaned a bit before rolling onto his front. Diana scowled angrily at the hillbilly as she approached him. Coach moved in front of Ellis, causing Diana to stop for a moment.

"I don't know your story lady, but I don't want to hit a woman," Coach warned.

"I'm so scared." Diana rushed forward before she slammed her open palm into Coach's chest. There was a loud thud upon impact, causing Coach to stumble back, groaning as he held his chest in pain. The large man fell to his knees, coughing uncontrollably and he clutched his chest. Diana put her foot on Coach's side and gently pushed the man to the side.

"Hey bitch!" Diana stopped and turned her head, seeing Nick aiming a pistol at her head. "Step away from the idiots!"

"Way to go Nick," Ellis groaned, attempting to get up with his arms shaking fiercely.

Diana simply removed her sunglasses, revealing her eyes as cold and blue as pure ice. Nick couldn't help but shift uneasily, keeping his gun on the woman before him. Diana's eyes flickered as she hurled her sunglasses forward, running closely behind them. Nick ducked under them before raising his head and weapon up. Diana sprung into the air, screaming in fury as she smashed her knee into Nick's chin. The conman groaned as his feet were lifted off the ground. Diana scowled as she pulled her knees up to her chin, placing her feet on Nick's chest. With all her might, she shoved the conman down onto the ground while lunging towards her sunglasses. Nick cried out in pain as he bounced off the ground while Diana caught her glasses. The assassin spun around and quickly put her sunglasses back on her face.

"What," Nick started coughing furiously as he slowly looked back at Diana, "The fuck?"

Diana snapped her head to the side when she heard someone screaming furiously at her. Jamie rushed towards the assassin as quickly as he could. Diana turned her body to face the boy, readying herself for the attack. Jamie jumped in the air, catching Diana by surprise. The brunette threw his fist down as Diana raised her arms up. Jamie broke her defense before throwing his knee forward. Diana quickly bent her arm and blocked the boy's knee with her forearm. Jamie swung his fist at Diana's head, narrowly missing her as she ducked. The assassin grabbed the brunette's shirt, bent down and pulled him forward with all her might. Jamie's stomach slammed into Diana's shoulder, knocking the wind out of him. Diana screamed before she used all her strength to throw Jamie over her back. The brunette cried out before he rolled onto his front and grabbed Diana's ankle as she attempted to run away.

The assassin fell forward, catching herself on her hands. She flipped forward over and over again before she stopped back in front of the monitor where the Director watched with intrigue. "I never knew that they could be this much trouble, Diana. Maybe you are losing your touch." Diana turned her head towards Williams, lying sprawled on the ground, fearfully looking up at his former partner.

"D-don't you dare! I have the virus the Director wants to be tested!"

"He's right," the Director murmured. "I can't afford to have him dead now."

"You won't have to," Diana replied, aiming her pistol at Williams. The scientist's eyes widened with fear while the Director's widened in shock. Diana pulled the trigger, her bullet flying through the vial Williams held in his hand. The glass shattered and the bullet punched bellow Williams' ribcage. With a trembling hand, Williams looked at the broken glass sticking out of his hand and the bullet wound in his body.

"Observe all you want now dear Director." Diana walked to the side, allowing the survivors to watch Williams as his body began to shake violently.

"Oh son of a bitch," Jamie murmured to himself.

"Hey Coach," Alan called out, watching Williams as he started to shake violently. "Remember when I told you that we had bigger issues to deal with than zombies and you asked what could be worse? Well you're about to find out…"

**

* * *

Hello one and all! How're you doing? That's great. Me? I'm in the middle of a fucking blizzard...no joke. Central American is consumed by the Snowpocalypse. Honestly, I'd think I was living in the arctic. Just wanted to let you guys know that I had some help with this chapter. It felt rushed (being twenty four pages and it's rushed) so I had my friend go over a little while ago. She claims it's not rushed, so I'm going to have to post this now. Hope it meets the approval of you fans too =)**


	14. Secret Origins

Williams shook violently as the Green Flu virus moved through his hand and the hole below his stomach. Diana smirked, pushing her sunglasses up her nose before turning to the Director on the giant screen. "Watch closely so that you can take all the notes you want sir."

"Clever until the end Diana," the Director murmured.

The skin on Williams' hand started to shift and bubble. The scientist screamed as the muscles and tendons started to bulge out, writhing around beneath his skin. His threw his left, infected arm forward while using his right hand to clutch his head in agony. Williams continued to thrash his arm around wildly, causing it to slowly grow longer and longer with each swing. His muscles and tendons lengthened immensely. The pain became intense enough that Williams dragged his nails down across his face, peeling the skin off. Blood started to run down his face, but quickly solidified into strange looking boils. His arm flopped around like a limp noodle. His fingers fused together, forming a sharpened tip at the end of his arm. Williams snapped his head up, his eyes blood red and blinded by uncontrollable fury.

"Holy shit," Coach shouted, aiming his shotgun at Williams. "What the hell is that thing?"

"Some new fucked up monster," Alan replied, taking a cautious step back.

Williams took a step towards the survivors while Diana and the Director watched with smirks on their faces. The infected Williams turned his head to a nearby soldier and lashed his arm out at him. The sharpened point stabbed it in the back. The soldier screamed in agony, arms trying to claw at the ground to fight the pain. The flesh of Williams' arm started to meld around the soldier, swallowing up his entire body.

Rochelle felt as though she may vomit. Ellis stared in disbelief in slack jawed awe. Nicole scowled in anger that someone would create a virus that would transform someone into such a monstrous being.

Williams' arm consumed the soldier entirely, groaning as his body began to writhe around again. His skin crawled across his chest to his other arm. The muscles began to bulge out, making his arm grow larger, almost to the size of a Tank's. The infected Williams screamed as he slammed his newly formed fist into the ground, growling in relief that his transformation stopped.

"Very impressive virus Director," the infected Williams murmured. Diana's jaw dropped and her brow rose in shock. Williams turned his head around to the assassin and the Director. "A virus that gives me a consciousness and control…you expanded on Elliot's general idea didn't you?"

"Not exactly. Elliot expanded on my general idea. Research showed that the Green Flu not only changed a person's body, but it also destroyed their minds. Their central consciousness. Some more than others as you've seen. Elliot took that idea and decided to control them, but my idea was to test different strains of the virus to test the different outcomes. I wanted to know if it was the virus itself that destroyed a person's mind, or the physical changes that the virus caused. I see that this virus is a little easier for a person to control though…"

"Alright, all I'm hearing is: 'I'm fucking crazy! Please shoot me Alan! God this screen makes my head look fat!'" Williams turned to the survivors, his one visible eye piercing through Alan. "You think that made him made?" Williams let out a bestial roar before lashing his arm forward. Alan and Zoey dove away from each other as the flexible appendage shot between them.

"Yeah, I'd say you did it alright Alan," Zoey replied, rolling across the ground to get a steady aim at Williams.

The infected scientist roared as he lashed his arm out again. Zoey rolled across the ground as Williams' sharpened arm tore through the solid stone wall behind her. The brunette started firing rounds from her assault rifle at Williams. The bullets started punching through the infected, but seemed to do very little. Blood oozed out of his wounds and hardened into boils, just as they had on his face. Zoey continued firing at Williams, praying that she might kill him. The blood solidified, and was surprisingly bullet proof. The bullets failed to pierce Williams' skin, much to Zoey's shock and the infected scientist's intrigue.

"Okay, so we can't touch him, and shooting him only makes him stronger," Doc said, turning to Nicole. "What the hell?"

"You've had more experience with this stuff than I have." Doc opened his mouth to shoot back a reply, but quickly turned to the sound of Williams screaming in rage.

The infected scientist spun around, throwing his long arm back at Diana. The assassin ducked and rolled under the strike, whipping out her pistol at Williams steadily. "I wouldn't try that Williams," the Director murmured.

"I have the power now," Williams replied, a wicked smile crossing his paling face. "Your mistake was infecting me with a virus that gives me control!"

"The virus was specifically designed to be less traumatizing to whomever it infects so the chance of a person's mind staying intact would increase," the Director reminded.

"That's still more than I expected from Williams here," Diana smugly replied. The infected beast screamed before rushing forward. Diana pulled out a knife with her free hand and fired a couple of rounds into Williams' body.

The infected scientist threw his bulky arm forward. Diana rolled under the strike, firing three rounds into the side of Williams' body. The bullets punched through the skin, but released his blood which solidified. Diana shot up to her feet, facing Williams as he started to turn around. The infected beast swung his long arm out, which Diana easily ducked under. The enlarged limb flung outward, nearly taking Zoey and Alan's heads off before smashing into a wall. Diana moved forward as Williams pulled back his other arm. With an enraged cry, he threw his fist down upon Diana. The assassin hopped to the side as Williams' fist smashed through the tile flooring. Diana twirled her knife in her hand for a second before stabbing it right into Williams' forehead.

The infected threw his head back and screamed in pain, stepping back as he tried to get his enlarged arm to reach the blade. He pulled his long arm back, trying to strike Diana from behind. The assassin simply sprung into the air, twisting her body back to aim her pistol at his head. She fired two shots, one piercing his throat and the second one hitting the handle of her knife. The blade flew out of Williams' forehead, causing him to cry out as blood trailed behind the spinning knife. Diana landed on her feet, unloading the clip from her pistol as her knife clattered on the ground between her and Williams.

"We are gonna need bigger guns," Jamie muttered to himself.

"Fire in the hole!" All eyes turned to the southern mechanic who aimed his grenade launcher up in the air a bit before pulling the trigger. A grenade flew out of the barrel, sailing up into the air before falling down towards Williams. As soon as contact was made, a large explosion went off. Ellis popped his grenade launcher open, removed the empty shell and slid his last grenade inside. "Yeah! He's not gettin up any time soon!"

"I wouldn't bet on it Ellis," Coach murmured. The smoke started to clear, revealing a massive chunk of Williams' shoulder and neck taken out.

"WOO-HOO! I did it!" The massive opening in the beast's body started closing up quickly with his hardened blood. "Oh shit, I didn't do it!"

"Yeah, you got about forty more of those things buddy," Alan asked. The survivor knelt down next to Zoey as they both started firing at Williams. The bullets hit, but did nothing to the infected scientist.

Williams turned his head and swung his lengthy arm at the duo. Zoey ducked while Alan rolled behind her. He stopped, now crouched on Zoey's other side before the two continued firing again. Williams started rushing towards them, his now massive feet creating a thunderous noise from below.

Williams screamed in pain as a giant chunk of his shoulder was blown out. He turned his head, seeing Jamie holding an automatic shotgun. "Get Nick now," Jamie shouted to Coach and the others. The brunette fired a few more rounds at Williams to make sure he followed him out of the room.

"We'll go back up Jamie," Nicole shouted as Doc ran into the next room. "You guys help the others!" The female doctor followed her ex fiancé quickly.

"Oh I'm gonna enjoy this," Alan stated with a grin as he lowered his gaze to Diana. "You're all mine now baby!"

"Director," Diana questioned, wanting full permission.

"Kill them."

Diana shot forward, eyes ridden with killing intent behind her sunglasses. She dove forward, narrowly avoiding Alan's swing with his arm. She rolled past Alan and went for Zoey. The brunette blocked a high kick, but was slightly staggered by it. Diana spun around, striking the other side of Zoey's head with the back of her fist. The brunette cried out, stumbling to the side before turning to face the assassin. Diana snapped her head forward to see Alan coming for her. She swung her fist across, but Alan stopped just in front of it. Diana gasped while Alan sneered wickedly. The survivor quickly wrapped his massive arms around Diana's shoulders, pressing the arm she used to attack against her body.

"You ready for this baby?" Alan lifted Diana off the ground, bending backwards before slamming the assassin on the ground in a solid suplex. Diana cried out, groaning in pain before Alan released her. The survivor rolled onto his front, quickly standing up while Diana lingered on the floor a bit. "Didn't know I could do that did ya? Former cage wrestling champ baby!"

"That…was actually impressive," Zoey stated in awe.

"Holy shit that was cool," Ellis exclaimed.

Diana's eyes widened in anger, her fuse finally reaching its end. She spun across the ground, kicking Alan's feet out with enough force to throw his body in the air for a few seconds. As she spun, Diana rose up on one foot, throwing her other into Alan's chest before he could even fall to the ground. The bulky survivor went flying, hitting his back against a pillar with a pained cry.

Zoey turned her head to Diana in shock, only to find that the assassin was already in front of her. Somehow, Zoey managed to jerk her head away from an open palmed strike, grab Diana's wrist, and wrap her arm around the other woman's elbow. Diana scowled, trying to break free from Zoey's grip while the brunette was trying to find out how she pulled that off.

Diana finally screamed in rage, throwing the side of her head against Zoey's face. The brunette cried out in pain, releasing Diana and stumbling back in the process. Diana charged forward, throwing her fist at Zoey. The brunette's eyes shot open in shock as she barely dodged Diana's open handed jab. Zoey threw her elbow at Diana's head. The assassin ducked then slid her foot across the ground, kicking Zoey's feet out from under her. The brunette hit with a pained cry as Diana spun to look down at her.

"YEE-," Diana turned around, catching a jumping Ellis by the throat, "haw—GACK!" The assassin started squeezing down on the mechanic's air pipe with all her might, wanting nothing more than to finally kill _something_.

Zoey swung her foot around, kicking Diana's feet out from under her. The assassin released Ellis to catch herself on her hands. Zoey rolled backwards onto her feet while Diana flipped forward. The two women turned to each other, Diana beyond her tolerance level with these survivors while Zoey was still wondering how she was keeping up with the assassin.

Diana gasped in shock as her arms were suddenly pulled up. She turned her head, seeing Coach holding her in a full nelson. "Look here lady, I really don't wanna hit you, but you're pushin your luck!"

Diana scoffed before flicking her head towards Coach. Her sunglasses flew off, the corner of one of the lenses hitting the heavy man in the eye. Coach cried out, releasing Diana to put a hand over his eyes. Diana turned and caught her sunglasses just before they hit the ground. She put them back on her face and slowly started walking towards Coach.

"Hold it!" Diana stopped, turning to Rochelle holding a gun to the assassin. "Don't take another step towards him."

"Roe, be careful," Ellis exclaimed.

Diana smirked in glee as she saw the hesitation written all over the woman's face. This fact was only worsened for Rochelle as Diana noted the short distance between them. In the blink of an eye, the assassin shot forward, throwing an upward kick that lifted Rochelle off her feet. The newswoman cried out, her gun flying out of her hands. Diana put her foot back on the ground, the smirk still plastered on her face as she stood patiently for Rochelle to fall back to the ground. Diana whirled around, throwing her knee into the newswoman's back. Rochelle shrieked in pain before flying forward, smacking hard on her front before rolling to a stop.

Ellis and Coach looked at the unconscious Rochelle in shock. The two natives of Savannah looked at the assassin, who was actually smiling. Anger welled up in both of them before they charged forward in a screaming fury.

"Shit," Alan groaned as he moved after them. Zoey shared the same thought before following.

* * *

Jamie started reloading his shotgun, ducking behind one of the exhibits for cover. The brunette flinched as Williams' arm smashed through the glass over his head without any trouble. Tiny pieces of glass rained down around him before he took a deep breath and popped out of cover. Williams leapt into the air, landing on the exhibit in front of Jamie. The survivor's eyes widened in shock, but he aimed the gun steadily before taking a shot. Williams screamed as he was thrown off the exhibit and slammed hard onto his back. Jamie continued to run, panting heavily before stopping to catch his breath. Williams sat up, eye wide with rage.

Before the infected scientist could attack, bullets rained down on him from opposite sides. Jamie looked up, seeing Nicole and Doc on opposite walkways in the room firing down on Williams. The infected looked up at Doc, throwing his arm at him first before swinging it back across at Nicole. Doc screamed in fright as the arm almost smashed into him before it whipped back across the room. Nicole dove to the side, crouching behind the railings to reload her rifle.

"Hey jumbo!" Jamie blasted Williams with shotgun to capture the beast's attention. "I'm over here!"

"I'm starting to see why Diana gets so annoyed with you," Williams growled.

"I could say the same thing about you," Jamie replied.

The infected scientist flung his arm forward. Jamie rolled backwards as the limb flew over him. He pulled out a pistol and started firing while stepping backwards. Williams growled before rushing forward like an angry bull. Jamie holstered his pistol and took baby steps backwards. He cocked his shotgun and watched carefully as Williams raised his bulky arm high above his head. Jamie aimed his shotgun at Williams' face and pulled the trigger. Bullets sprayed the infected scientists' face as he cried out in pain. Jamie dove and rolled to the side as Williams' body crashed and slid across the ground. The brunette stood up and stepped away from Williams, clutching his shotgun tightly. Williams' body started moving, grumbling lowly as he pushed himself off the ground.

"What do we have to do to get rid of this guy," Jamie asked, glancing up at Doc.

"Well, seeing as how his blood solidifies once it contacts the air and hardens enough to protect him from most bullets…I'd suggest something explosive."

Nicole zeroed in on her scope and fired a bullet through Williams' head. Despite the hole in his cranium, the infected continued to move. Nicole scowled, quickly reloading her sniper rifle. Williams turned his head, focusing in on Jamie. Doc aimed his assault rifle at the infected beast before a thought occurred to him. He looked up, seeing a few sprinklers on the ceiling. Moving his gun up, he fired a few short bursts. He destroyed the nozzles, letting water rain down from above.

Jamie looked up in confusion as soon as the water started coming down, "Doc…what the hell?" Williams stepped into the streaming water, standing across from Jamie who was glaring fearlessly back at him.

Doc lowered his rifle to Williams and started spraying him with his assault rifle. Williams screamed as the bullets ripped through him, blood flying out of each puncture wound. Jamie blinked in shock as Williams staggered back, blood flowing freely out of his body. Suddenly, the infected scientist's blood started hardening again.

"That blood armor bullshit gets soft in water," Doc shouted. "That's how we get him!"

"So all I have to do is stand in here and-," Williams roared before lashing his sharpened arm forward. Jamie ducked under the limb as if flew over his head. The brunette quickly aimed his shotgun up and fired. The blast tore Williams' arm off, causing him to stagger back, screaming in agony. "And I should be fine."

The scientist looked at his bleeding arm, before the blood hardened to close the wound. His enraged eye focused on Jamie who stood in the center of a shower of water with a smug smirk on his face. Williams turned to a nearby pillar before grabbing it with his arm. Jamie's eyes widened in shock, bringing a sinister sneer to Williams' infected features. He tore a chunk of the pillar out and hurled it at Jamie. The survivor ducked as the pillar crashed in the wall behind him. He looked up, seeing the casing of a museum exhibit flying towards him. Jamie dove out of the safety of the water before looking up. Williams charged forward, screaming as he lifted his arm in the air. Jamie blasted Williams in the stomach, causing him to groan and clutch his wound. The brunette quickly ran to the side as Williams crashed onto the ground.

Jamie looked up, stopping underneath a sprinkler. He looked over towards Doc who was already zeroed in and shook his head. Williams stood up, turning to Jamie who was reloading his shotgun. The infected beast rushed forward, roaring angrily as he pulled his arm back to strike.

"Now," Jamie shouted. Before Doc could fire, Nicole shot the nozzle off, letting water rain down on Jamie and Williams.

The infected stopped for a moment to register what had happened. Jamie fired a shotgun blast into Williams' chest. The scientist roared in pain, falling to his knees to clutch his bleeding stomach. Doc started pouring led into Williams' back. The beast roared, trying to reach its back. Jamie fired another blasted into Williams' chest, causing him to lurch forward again. The brunette fired another round into Williams' face. The blast had enough force to get Williams back on his feet and stagger out of the water.

The infected fell to its knees, panting heavily as blood poured out of his wounds. Jamie started to steady his breathing while keeping his eyes focused on Williams. A faint sigh escaped from the scientists' mouth before he fell forward, slamming hard onto the floor. Jamie let out a sigh of relief before falling back onto his rear. Doc also sighed while Nicole simply smiled in triumph. Jamie looked up at the two doctors with a smile on his face, giving them a thankful wave.

"Had you thought you'd won…?" The survivors looked over in shock as Williams started moving. The infected beast growled as he pushed himself up, tearing a chunk of the solid ground off that was attached to his chest. His arm that Jamie blew off also tore a piece of the ground out that his blood had hardened to. "Fools such as yourselves shouldn't play with what they can't comprehend…"

"Well we don't have much of a choice now do we," Jamie murmured.

The flooring tightened around Williams' body, forming a makeshift suit of armor. The beast ran forward as Jamie quickly rose to his feet. He fired a shot from his shotgun that took out a chunk of the flooring around Williams' chest. The infected grabbed Jamie and slammed him against the back wall, causing dirt and rock to fly out. Jamie cried out in pain before Williams turned and hurled him across the room. Jamie hit the ground hard enough to knock him unconscious as he rolled into the next room.

"Jamie," Doc shouted. Williams looked up at the blonde and sneered. "Alright you son of a bitch! You're going down!"

* * *

Ellis threw a wild punch at Diana which she nimbly ducked under while tripping the mechanic. She turned her attention to Coach who threw one of his massive fists at her. Diana knocked the blow to the side before kneeing Coach in the stomach. The heavyset man groaned before falling to his hands and knees. Diana looked down at him for a moment before snapping her eyes to the side. She arched backwards as Alan's machete threatened to behead her. Diana flew back on her hands, flipped once onto her feet before springing high into the air and landing on her feet.

The assassin kept her eyes on Alan while getting her knife out and spinning backwards to try and stab Zoey. The brunette, surprised that Diana turned to her, jerked her head back and stopped the assassin's arm by her wrist. Zoey reached down and grabbed Diana's other arm and pulled it across her body. The assassin gasped lightly, looking down at both of her arms going different directions over her chest. Zoey thrashed her head against Diana's, but held onto the assassin. The black haired woman cried out, shaking her head clear before glaring at Zoey. The brunette slammed her knee into Diana's stomach, causing the assassin to cry out and lurch forward. Zoey then spun around and hurled Diana to the floor, panting heavily as she wiped the corner of her mouth. Diana groaned, slowly getting up off the floor.

"I came here to chew bubble gum and kick ass," Zoey began cockily. "And I'm all out of bubble gum."

"Win," Alan called out. Diana coughed a bit, growling bitterly as she looked in Zoey's direction.

"This is rather…concerning Diana," the Director stated. "I thought you could've handled this. They're just ordinary survivors. No special training or anything." The assassin screamed in frustration, slamming her fist into the ground, busting her knuckles open. She grabbed her sunglasses and hurled them across the room before shooting Zoey a menacing glare. The brunette took a cautious step back. If looks could kill, Zoey had no doubt that she'd be on the floor. "I know you're better than this. Get up and kill these survivors or find yourself expendable like Elliot." Diana rose to her feet, looking more fearsome than a thousand Witches as she focused on Zoey.

"Why me," the brunette whispered to herself. "Why me?"

The Director turned his head to the side and started pressing a few buttons off screen, "Curious…" Diana's eyes widened as she shot forward. She didn't notice Alan rushing to cut her off.

The bulky survivor threw his fist across Diana's face, throwing the assassin to the ground. Without missing a beat, Diana spun around on her back and kicked Alan's feet out from under him. Alan hit the ground as Diana spun up to her feet. She glared at Alan, snarling like a beast before she sat on his stomach. Alan looked up in shock before Diana socked him across the face. The former cage fighter groaned in pain before Diana punched him again, and again, and again. The assassin panted heavily, wailing relentlessly on Alan's face. The survivor finally lifted his bulky arms over his face to shield himself. This only seemed to frustrate Diana even further as her punches became faster and harder.

"Get off him!" Diana stopped and turned her head, seeing Zoey rushing towards her.

Alan quickly grabbed Diana's jacket and yanked her forward, head butting the assassin. Zoey dove forward as Diana screamed in pain, tackling the black haired woman off of Alan. As the two women rolled, Diana quickly spun Zoey around and slammed her on the ground and started to punch the brunette in the face like she did Alan only a moment ago. Diana's grin was wide and wicked, getting much more satisfaction as she relentlessly assaulted Zoey.

"Hey bitch!" Diana snapped her head up, her evil grin vanishing. Alan screamed in fury as he threw a powerful uppercut that landed. Diana grunted as she was lifted off the ground, and off of Zoey, by Alan's blow.

The assassin snarled as she threw her legs up and planted her hands on the ground. She wrapped her legs around Alan's massive arm and roared as she pulled him forward. Alan was lifted off his feet and cried out in fear as he was thrown face first into the ground. Diana released her legs from Alan's arm and rose to her feet. She turned around and socked Zoey in the face before she could get back up and quickly snapped her head back to Alan to ensure he was down. She turned back to Zoey, a malicious grin on her face. The brunette groaned, holding the side of her blood stained face in pain. The blood was from Diana's busted knuckles. The assassin chuckled as she walked forward, an animalistic intent in her eyes.

"Yo crazy bitch!" Diana snarled, snapping her head to the side. Immediately, she was met with a massive gloved fist that knocked her to the ground. Coach groaned, shaking his hand a bit in pain. "I'm getting sick and tired of your crazy ass! I don't care if you are a woman: I'm done! I'm gonna kick the shit out of you!"

Diana screamed at the top of her lungs in fury, slamming both of her fists onto the ground. She couldn't be left alone for one second while she was winning against the survivors. The assassin sprung to her feet and rushed Coach in a screaming fury. She threw a high kick aimed at Coach's chest. Somehow, the heavyset man sidestepped to avoid the blow. Diana looked to the side in shock before Coach swung his arm, slamming his forearm into the woman's mouth. The assassin cried out and hit the floor hard while Coach strode backwards.

"I forget to mention I was a boxing champ back in my younger days?" Diana's breathing started to become heavier and more feral as she turned her head to Coach. "I probably won't do much against your crazy ass, but I'm not going to sit back anymore!"

"Oh this would explain it," the Director murmured. Coach and Diana turned their heads to the large screen. The Director looked at Diana, "The brunette, Zoey, she's a special case after all." Diana gasped questioningly before turning to the young woman. "Elliot's experiments concerning control and enhancements to a normal person through that second virus, he had one successful test subject: Zoey." Diana's eyes widened, in a more controlled rage.

"Shifty little…"

"We got that crazy device off my back," Zoey exclaimed. "I'm no super powered ninja anymore!"

"That device was for control," the Director stated. "You still have the virus that gave you those abilities within you, but without that device you can't use it as effectively. That would explain how you can stand on equal footing with Diana when it comes to reflexes. You have the power, it's just not as refined in your body. The virus we manufactured was designed to improve human capabilities. We used the Green Flu, and another rare enzyme in order to create it. The virus had…mixed results. The Green Flu, believe it or not, is a natural virus that we found. Through experimentation and alterations, we made it as a cheap, quick healing, and an all purpose medicine. It could heal and disinfect any and all wounds, best seen in Lashers. It could also increase the physical limitations of humans, as seen with Hunters, Jockeys, Tanks, and Witches. But there was more to it than we imagined."

Diana straightened her back, seemingly having calmed down as the Director continued, "The Green Flu mutated uncontrollably, and we added a special enzyme, the D-enzyme as we labeled it, to try and control it. It worked for awhile, and we created something amazing. We had the capabilities to recreate mankind, to make everyone stronger, faster, sharper, smarter, and overall better. However, the success rate was next to nothing. It was a dead end. We spent billions of dollars on this vaccine, and studying the Green Flu and all it did was turn people into mindless zombies. We were almost bankrupt, but that's when something amazing happened with the Green Flu: the first mutation. The normal zombies you see, even in their mass of hordes could easily be extinguished with enough firepower. But one of the creatures mutated into something else. And then another mutated, and another, and another, until we had a small variety of monsters and mutants. I saw a way to regain our funds: sell this virus and recreate the playing field for biological warfare! A virus that can turn thousands into mindless beasts overnight! The larger countries, Russia, France, the U.K. won't touch the virus for obvious reasons. But if enough wild card countries or individuals, North Korea, the Russian Mafia, the Taliban, got a hold of this virus, then the virus is their only hope. Either infect their enemies like they were, or buy a cure. Both of which will come from me of course."

"Then why the hell were you and Elliot trying to control the virus," Zoey asked, her back tingling a bit from where said scientist's device was planted on her back.

"As I told you: the Green Flu combined with the D-enzyme had the capabilities of making humankind into something more. The problem was the virus ripped through a person's body worse than the normal Green Flu, killing them in a more painful manner than if they were just transformed into a zombie. Some people died, others were immune to the D-enzyme and became zombies. The enzyme is what makes the mutations, Tanks, Hunters, Lashers, and all the others. The Green Flu alone kills most people, not transforming them into zombies. The D-enzyme mutated the Green Flu further than it naturally did on its own, making it the deadly virus what it truly is. But, being low on funding, I couldn't continue my work.

"That's why I had Elliot, and others like him, out in the middle of the infection, so he could use all the equipment he needed without worrying about cost. He and his colleagues turned out to be very reliable with all their data, saving me billions of dollars. They all eventually reached their own levels of usefulness, which is where Diana comes in. She went to each outpost and killed the scientists to tie up all my loose ends. That's also why I had Williams. He and Diana would hit military outposts, and with the military's computers, Williams could hack his way through countless data files and discover thousands of secrets that the States would rather keep a secret. I could sell these secrets back to the United States, or to any country of my choosing."

"So basically you're screwing over the whole world," Coach shouted.

"Yeah," Alan added. "Plus how are you going to keep everyone from coming down and kicking your ass once you make them super powered?"

"I get to make mankind better, and put them all under my rule. As I said: the device Elliot made was for control. Not only to refine the virus and keep it from destroying a person's mind and body, but to control the human and the virus within. The way I see it: mankind would just blow itself up with nuclear war in a few decades anyway. If anything I'm preventing humanity's inevitable self destruction by putting the whole world under one absolute rule."

"Seriously," Zoey snapped, "This is plagiarism! I hope Capcom sues your ass!"

The Director slowly turned his head away from the survivors, a faint look of curiosity in his eyes. "I think that's enough talking. Have you calmed down Diana?" The assassin looked up, her eyes icy and calm again.

"Yes Director…" She spun her head around and threw a kick at Coach who didn't distance himself far enough. The heavyset man cried out and flew back, sliding across the ground. Diana turned to Alan and Zoey. Her glare wasn't nearly as insane, but was still just as intimidating all the same.

"Zoey…"

"Yeah Alan?"

"That Director guy just stalled us so Diana could put her head back on straight didn't he?" The Director's lips pulled into an amused, smug smirk.

"Yes Alan…"

"We're going to die now aren't we?"

"Yes Alan…" Diana slowly walked forward, the murderous intent still in her eyes as her light blue orbs reflected Zoey and Alan's fear stricken faces.

* * *

Doc unloading into Williams as the beast rushed towards him. Not too long ago, Williams jumped onto Doc's walkway and attempted to attack him. With some help from Nicole, he was able to keep the beast at a distance. Doc's bullets started chipping away at Williams' armor made of tile. Nicole fired her sniper rounds carefully at Williams' exposed body to get his attention. Williams stopped, shielding his face as he growled in anger. He slammed his hand through a wall, tearing a massive chunk out. Williams screamed as he swung it forward, almost hitting Doc, before hurling it across the room. Nicole dove and rolled to the side as the chunk of rock smashed into the wall beside her. Williams turned to Doc who was firing at him nonstop. Finally, the gun clicked empty, causing Doc to look down in shock. Williams sneered before grabbed the man's torso and lifting him high into the air. Doc cried out in pain at the enormous amount of pressure on his ribs. Williams swung his arm to the side, smacking Doc into the wall before throwing him down to the ground.

Doc was half unconscious as he fell to the ground. He smashed through some glass which helped slowly down his momentum. The blonde hit the ground and rolled forward, stopping next to Jamie's unconscious body.

"Damn it," Doc murmured.

Nicole got up to her feet, looking down to see Doc lying next to Jamie. She gasped before looking back at Williams who was sneering at her. "Shit…" Nicole quickly looked around to see if anything could've been of use to her. She looked further down the walkway and breathed a quick sigh of relief.

Williams launched himself across the room, landing behind Nicole. The survivor turned around and fired two sniper rounds at point blank. This hardly affected Williams more than stalling him for a second. The beast rushed after the survivor, but was nowhere near as fast as Nicole. Williams tore a chunk of the wall out and hurled it at Nicole with a loud cry. The survivor turned around and quickly ducked under the chunk of rock that nearly squashed her. The boulder hit the wall up ahead and smashed through the railing. Nicole smirked before rushing forward again. She threw her sniper rifle forward, causing it to hit the ground below and slid up to Doc. Nicole reached down and pulled out her pistol, looking back over her shoulder. Williams screamed as he ran faster, but still not nearly as fast as Nicole. The survivor stopped and started firing her pistol. The bullets bounced off the tile attached to Williams' body, and did little to his actual flesh.

"Foolish woman," Williams murmured as he started walking now instead of rushing.

Nicole shifted her eyes over to the side and smiled. Williams stopped, wondering what the smile was for. Nicole fired two more bullets before unloading the empty clip. Williams huffed before throwing his stone arm forward, releasing a chunk of rock at Nicole. The black haired doctor moved towards the wall, ran two steps up it before launching herself backwards. Williams' eye widened in shock as he watched Nicole. The woman aimed her pistol with a smirk and fired one bullet.

The shot hit an electrical fuse box behind Williams, erupting in a massive explosion. The blast consumed Williams' back causing him to scream out in pain. The explosion also threw Williams through the railing and sent him falling to the floor. Nicole watched Williams, smiling that her plan worked. Now she waited for the inevitable thud that would greet her. Instead of hitting with a bone breaking smack, Nicole was surprised when she heard a stifled grunt. Someone had caught her, and whoever it was began to stumble back before falling down on his back. Nicole turned her head, seeing Doc groaning to sit up and smile at her.

"How's it going?" Nicole smiled, laughing in disbelief before giving Doc a quick kiss on the lips. The blonde blushed at the sudden action before Nicole turned her head back to Williams.

The infected screamed in pain and agony as he thrashed around. He had a giant hole in his back, but the blood started healing it regardless. Williams rolled onto his side, his eye bulging in fury.

"Well I thought that would've blown him in half," Nicole murmured bitterly. "How do you guys usually kill these new infected?"

"The last one that was this big of a pain Jamie and I killed it with a flame thrower and two grenades…we have none of that…" Williams rose to his feet, glaring at the two former doctors.

Suddenly, a gunshot went off, punching a hole in Williams' forehead. The infected and two survivors turned their head to Jamie, who was struggling to stand up. "Over here ugly! Come get me!"

"In a hurry to die eh? FINE!" Williams ran forward on all fours, rushing like a feral animal. Jamie stepped back, firing a few more bullets at Williams while stepping back. Nicole ran forward and shoved Jamie out of the way, knowing there was no way he was going to stand up against the infected and live.

"NICOLE!" The black haired woman turned around and was smashed full force by Williams.

"Shit!" Jamie got up and ran into the room with Doc. The two started firing at Williams, getting his attention. The infected threw the woman across the room before rushing the other two survivors. "Get Nicole and both of you get out of the room! I have an idea!"

"You don't think of telling us this BEFORE Nicole shoved you out of the way?"

"Doc," Nicole shouted, "Close the gate!" The blonde didn't think twice before reaching up and sliding their only exit shut.

"No," Jamie screamed. The gate slammed into the ground. "Damn it!"

"I take it this plan is life threatening," Doc questioned, guessing that Nicole some how caught onto Jamie's idea.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Next time we fight one of these mutated scientists, get Alan to go with you! Not me!"

"Stall him for a few minutes," Nicole shouted, tossing her gun to the ground. Doc whipped his head to Jamie, who nodded and dropped his weapon as well.

"Great," Doc murmured before dropping his firearm too. "What does this plan involve exactly?"

"Life threatening," Jamie replied quickly before running to the side as Williams approached. Doc growled in frustration before running the opposite way.

Jamie pulled out his knife, stopping as he realized Williams was coming for him. The brunette stared at the beast for a moment before choosing the last second to jump to the side. Williams barreled through an exhibit, breaking glass before tripping over himself and hitting the ground hard. Jamie twirled his knife a bit before turning around and running for dear life. Williams got up, snarling as he got up and chased after Jamie.

Nicole grabbed a small jar and crouched behind one of the displays. Jamie rounded the corner in a manner mirroring a drunken pirate. Nicole sprung up and slammed the jar into Williams' head. The infected cried out and placed his hand over his face as Nicole followed after Jamie. Williams screamed in fury before smashing the display that Nicole hid behind and chased the two survivors.

Doc stopped at the other side of the room, wondering why the hell Jamie and Nicole were just pissing off Williams. The blonde panted heavily before he smelt something strange. He turned his head, seeing a gas pipe had been opened up and gas was filling the air.

"You have _GOT_ to be fucking kidding me!"

"Shut up and help Doc," Jamie called back. The blonde felt like beating Jamie into a pulp for this idiotic, reckless plan. Regardless, Doc turned and ran to join his ex fiancé and Jamie.

* * *

Diana stepped back as Alan attempted to punch her. She threw her leg up, landing a solid blow across Alan's body. The bulky survivor grunted and stepped back, clutching his chest. Diana watched Alan for a moment before whirling around, stopping Zoey's strike while also socking her across the face. The brunette cried out and hit the floor as Diana spun back around and kicked Alan in the chest. The survivor grunted and staggered back, falling down on his rear as he groaned. Diana smirked before turning around, sweeping her leg across the air to hit an attacking Ellis in the side of the head. The mechanic cried out as he slammed hard into the ground. The assassin smiled before looking up at a hesitant Coach. Diana started walking casually towards the large man who tensed up. Coach finally threw his fist forward once Diana got closer. The assassin huffed in amusement, grabbing Coach's wrist, and pulled him into her knee. A whoosh of air flew out of Coach's lungs, which was soon followed by a few pained coughs. Diana chuckled coldly before lifting her leg up high and pulling down on Coach's arm. The large man was flipped over Diana's knee and landed hard on his back. The assassin let out a light, relieved sigh as she looked around the room. Alan, Coach, Ellis, and Zoey were all lying on the floor, groaning in pain and hardly moving.

"That's more like it Diana," the Director murmured.

"Forgive me for taking my sweet time. These survivors have been quite the nuisance." Diana pulled out her knife, letting the light gleam off it. "I'd like to watch them suffer if you don't mind…"

"Hey bitch!" Diana groaned, rolling her eyes before turning her head around. Nick stood in the doorway with a baseball bat in hand and an enraged look on his face. The conman threw the bat up, caught it and threw it back around so he was gripping the handle. "Let's dance!"

Diana chuckled before walking towards Nick. The conman strode forward, eyes on fire as he met the assassin's ice cold gaze. Nick roared as he swung the bat down on Diana. The assassin side stepped, flipping a loose strand of hair out of her face before chuckling. Diana thrusted her knife forward. Nick managed to jerk out of the way and spin around, facing Diana with a fierce scowl. The assassin laughed mockingly at Nick before spinning around. Nick quickly raised the bat vertically to block Diana's kick. The assassin caught the weapon between her heel and spun around with all her might. The bat was wrenched free from Nick's grip. Diana landed on her hands, spinning her body around to throw the bat across the room before springing up onto her feet. A wicked sneer crossed the assassin's face as she stabbed upward. Nick jerked his head to the side, avoiding the blade before stepping back. Diana moved forward, slashing down at Nick, only to miss again. She then spun around, attempting kick Nick in the face. The conman pulled his head back as far as he could, narrowly avoiding the strike. Nick then grabbed Diana's foot and her leg up. The assassin cried out before she was forcibly slammed onto her side. Nick pressed his knee down on Diana's hip and twisted her leg around as best as he could. The assassin shrieked as there was a crunching noise. Diana turned her upper body and threw her knife at Nick, imbedding the blade into his shoulder. The conman cried out, releasing the assassin before rolling forward. Diana breathed heavily in relief before rolling away from Nick.

"Fuck," the conman seethed as he yanked the knife out of his shoulder. He looked back over at Diana, who groaned as she twisted her leg back into its joint.

"That was impressive," Diana murmured before turning to Nick.

"You pick up a few things when you're a criminal." Nick stood up, flipping the knife around in a reversed grip before raising it above his face. "Like how to fight with a knife. If you didn't learn you died."

"How cute," Diana chuckled as she stood up. "You're trying to act tough."

"Fucked you up didn't I?" Diana smirked at Nick's confidence. She looked down, seeing Nick's baseball bat lying next to her. Diana put her foot underneath the wooden weapon before kicking it up into the air. She grabbed the handle and swung the blunt object with surprising speed, using only one hand.

"Don't get cocky. I was having a good day until you did that."

Diana rushed forward, the tip of the bat dragging lightly across the ground. She swung upward. Nick stepped back, narrowly missing the blow as he threw his arms out for extra momentum. Diana grabbed Nick's right wrist, holding him still before she pulled forward and spun around. She slammed the bottom of the bat into Nick's gut, knocking the wind out of him and causing the knife to fall out of his hands. Diana screamed as she pulled forward, throwing Nick over her shoulders and onto the ground.

The assassin looked at the conman for a moment before turning her head, seeing Alan coming at her with a machete. Diana swung the bat upward as Alan swung down. The machete imbedded itself into the bat, almost chopping it in half. Diana pulled her arm back, causing Alan to stumble forward. She threw her palm upward, slamming it hard into Alan's chin. She scowled, wanting to jam Alan's nose into his tiny brain. Diana gripped the survivor's goatee and then pulled him forward as she slammed her knee into his gut. Alan coughed in pain, but quickly wrapped his arms around Diana's waist to hold her in place. The assassin slammed the end of the bat into Alan's back, causing him to cry out in pain. The survivor fumed, his face turning red as he lifted Diana off the ground. The assassin gasped, looking down in shock. Alan screamed as he hurled Diana's body across the room, smashing her through a glass display.

Diana groaned, slowly rising to her knees. Ellis grabbed the assassin's jacket and pulled her forcefully up to her feet. This caused shock and alarm to course through Diana's head as she slipped out of her coat. Ellis gasped in shock as Diana grabbed the nearest shard of glass and spun around the mechanic. Ducking down, Diana stabbed the piece of glass into the back of Ellis' thigh. The mechanic cried out, falling to his knees before clutching his leg in pain. Diana grabbed her jacket before it hit the floor, sliding one arm in effortlessly. She huffed in annoyance as she started to put the other arm in. She barely missed the artery in the mechanic's leg.

Diana's head snapped forward as she heard a loud screaming. Coach put his massive hands on either side of Diana's head. In one motion, the large man threw his head forward while pulling Diana's towards him. The blow nearly cracked both of their skulls. Diana groaned as her head started spinning. Coach quickly recovered, spinning the assassin around before grabbing her and lifting her high above his head. Diana's eyes were wide with shock as the disorientation faded away quickly in place of shock. Coach roared with fury before throwing Diana across the room.

The assassin hit with a hard thud, sliding across the floor before coming to a stop. Diana groaned, slowly pushing herself up off the floor. Suddenly, the assassin was pulled up to her feet and was staring into the face of one angry black woman. Rochelle punched Diana across the face, causing her to spin around and stumble towards Zoey. The brunette lightly blew across her knuckles before throwing a punch with a smirk on her face. The blow hit Diana in the face, causing her to turn and stumble back around. Rochelle punched Diana across the face again, grabbing her before she could spin back around. The news reporter punched Diana two more times across the face before landing a third with all her might, releasing the assassin. Diana spun around towards Zoey who grabbed her jacket to hold her straight. The brunette slammed her knee into Diana's gut, causing her to double over with a cry of pain. Zoey kneed her once more for good measure before grabbing the back of Diana's jacket. The brunette walked quickly, dragging Diana with her. With all her strength, Zoey screamed as she lifted Diana off her feet to throw her though another glass display.

The shattering echoed through the room as Diana hit the floor on the other side of the display with a thud. Zoey panted heavily, stepping back before brushing a strand of her hair out of her face. Alan, Coach, Ellis, Nick, and Rochelle all walked up, standing behind Zoey as they all stared at Diana lying on the floor. The Director stared at his motionless assassin and hummed lowly with intrigue. Alan grinned before turning to the screen and pointing at the Director.

"See that? We're gonna come kick your ass next big man!" The Director turned his attention to Alan before huffing with an indifferent look.

Diana suddenly sprung up from behind the display and hurled a shard of glass forward. The survivors gasped in shock before the shard sliced its way deep into Zoey's shoulder. The brunette fell on her back, screaming in pain as she clutched her bleeding wound. The black haired assassin landed on the display, perched like a statue with the animalistic fury in her eyes again. The Director slowly moved his eyes towards Diana who was panting heavily, her chest and shoulders rising and falling with each breath.

"Diana…calm yourself…"

"They…I'll kill…" Alan quickly put himself between Zoey and Diana, with Nick and Coach backing him up. Rochelle and Ellis tried to tend to Zoey, who was whimpering in pain. "You…will all…DIE!"

"Diana!" The assassin flinched, blinking as the animal look in her eyes went away. Alan gasped in shock as he saw a new look in her eyes. Diana's eyes were wide with shock…and fear. She looked like a frightened child rather than a woman who was capable of kicking the living crap out of six people single handedly. "It's over. Round up your men and leave."

"But…"

"NOW!" Diana flinched as the Director barked at her, cowering further in her corner. Alan looked between the two in confusion. "They won't hurt you. If they do, I'll just have to hurt the little girl." Alan gasped as Zoey lifted her head up to look at the Director. "I'm afraid that this Maria is a special case too. She wasn't immune to the Green Flu virus, yet this 'Doc,' or rather Richard, managed to make her immune through a vaccination. Whether or not any of you realize it, Doc mutated Maria's genes. We could use her as a genetic base to further my research and development by decades."

"You son of a bitch," Zoey shouted, groaning as she attempted to get up.

"Be good little boys and girls, and stay out of our way," the Director snapped. "And I might allow you all to live. Diana, leave now." The assassin nodded before jumping off the display. She rolled across the ground, grabbing her knife before running out of the room as fast as she could. The Director pressed a few buttons and the screen went black.

"They have Maria," Zoey groaned, lifting herself up.

"I'm on it!" Alan immediately chased after Diana with a confused Nick behind him. Coach, knowing that he couldn't keep up with either of them after that fight, turned around and knelt down next to Zoey.

"Maria…"

"Hey, don't try and move now," Ellis murmured. "You're hurt badly."

"You're one to talk," Rochelle replied, looking at Ellis' bleeding leg.

"I'll take care of the boy," Coach said as he unzipped a medkit. "Who's this Maria girl that you and that Director guy talked about?"

"Sh-she's a twelve year old girl. She's been with us longer than I have." Zoey's eyes hardened as she looked up at the doorway, "So help me if they hurt her-,"

"Let's worry about gettin you patched up first," Coach whispered softly. "That thing is pretty deep in your shoulder." Zoey lied back down, closing her eyes in grief for Maria.

* * *

Jamie ducked as Williams swung his massive arm at him. The limb tore through stone like a shovel through dirt. Jamie dove between the infected monster's legs and scrambled away. Williams turned around, just as Nicole stabbed a medieval lance through his nose. Williams cried out in pain, spinning around as he clutched the weapon that jutted through his head. Doc had a small hand axe which he hurled at Williams. The blade struck his back, causing a pained howl to escape his mouth. The infected fell to his knees, pulling the lance out of his face before tearing the axe out of his back. Williams turned his head to the other three survivors who bunched together, eyes cautious.

"You three…are rather annoying. You're just trying to piss me off! Refusing to use your guns just so you can fuck with me!" Williams rose to his feet, letting out an inhuman scream before running forward.

"Plan," Jamie screamed as he started to run. Doc and Nicole followed behind the brunette who quickly pointed to the side. The two doctors followed where Jamie's finger was pointed, seeing a large oak chest. "HIDE!" Jamie pulled out his knife and ran faster.

"Is he kidding," Nicole asked.

"Do it!" Doc pulled Nicole to the side while Williams chased after Jamie.

The brunette rushed towards the gas line. He looked back over his shoulder and was immediately scooped up by Williams' massive hand. The brunette cried out in shock before he was slammed into the wall, causing him to groan. The gas line busted open, allowing more of it to flow into the room. Williams, having got a lance through the nose, couldn't smell the gas spraying all around him.

Doc looked back as Nicole climbed into the chest. He scowled at the sight of Jamie being crushed under Williams' hand. "Fuck this…" Doc quickly ran towards Jamie and Williams. Nicole scowled as she climbed back out of the chest and followed Doc.

Williams squeezed his hand around Jamie's body, causing him to cry out in pain. "You're quite the annoying little man you know? They should put on your tombstone: playing the hero will only get you killed." Williams squeezed Jamie's body to emphasize his point.

Doc grabbed another hand axe and continued towards Williams.

Jamie let out a pained chuckle, before breaking out in laughter. Williams scowled and clenched his fist tighter, replacing Jamie's laughter with a yelp of pain. "What's so funny?"

"The tombstone remark…how about yippee ki-yay…" Jamie placed his knife on the metal pipe, dangerously close to the opening. "MOTHER FUCKER!" The brunette dragged his knife across the pipe, creating sparks that erupted into an inferno. Jamie swung his arm forward, which could create the illusion that he was guiding the fire. The flames shot out, engulfing Williams completely.

He released Jamie, who hit the ground and quickly started running away. Williams screamed in agony, smacking his body all over to try and put the flames out. Doc and Nicole slid to a stop and quickly ducked behind the nearest display for cover. Williams staggered forward, blinded by the fire as he swung in a desperate attempt to hit Jamie. His flaming arm instead hit the gas line, creating a massive explosion. Jamie cried out as the blast threw him forward. Doc and Nicole both hunkered down more, screaming as the explosion went off. Doc opened his eyes before peaking over the display, looking at where the explosion came from. To his shock, the flames were kindling and not spreading like one would expect them to in a room filled with gas.

"What the…?" Nicole got up and ran towards Jamie. A confused Doc did a double take before following after Nicole. "Shouldn't we all be roasted right about now?"

"There were air vents that I opened up on the opposite half of the room before we locked Williams in here," Nicole explained as she got to Jamie. "We had to get him close and then set him on fire. That was my plan at least." The two doctors knelt down next to Jamie who groaned. "I'm not sure if he had the same plan though…" Doc looked at Jamie's shirt which was burnt black from the explosion.

"Did we get em…?" Nicole looked up at Doc who grinned at the sound of Jamie's muffled voice.

"Yeah, you got him alright. Do me a favor though: next time you decide to take on a mutated zombie-,"

"Don't bring you, yeah, yeah, yeah…" Jamie groaned as he pushed himself up, his face covered in smeared ashes. "How come we're not all roasted?" Doc rolled his eyes while Nicole smacked her forehead in disbelief.

"You know, I think you'd have a lot less scars if you planned your life threatening, selfless actions before you just did them," Doc stated. "Nicole opened up some air vents so most of the gas was only on one half of the room."

"Oh…that's much less suicidal than my plan." Nicole smacked Jamie upside the head, "Ow!"

"Idiot," Nicole murmured with a smirk.

"Come on, let's get back to the others." Doc helped Jamie to his feet, followed by Nicole. The three survivors looked back at the flaming remains of Williams before turning around and heading towards the exit.

"You all okay in there," a voice called out. The door slid upward, revealing Coach and Ellis. "We heard an explosion."

"Is everyone alrig—SHIT boy! What happened in here?" The survivors looked back, getting a full view of the room. Chunks of rock, dirt, shards of glass, all manner of old an ancient melee weapons lied on the ground, and in the back corner of the room was a small fire. Jamie, Doc, and Nicole turned back around.

"Nothing much," Jamie replied. "Just taking care of business. What's up?"

"Um…well we kinda beat that ninja assassin girl," Ellis said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Jamie and the others looked at each other, sensing a 'but' shortly after. "But Zoey's kinda hurt and…and that Diana woman took Maria…"

"WHAT?" Jamie quickly rushed forward, pushing past Coach and Ellis.

"Damn it Jamie!" Doc ran after the brash brunette. Nicole moved to follow the two, but was stopped by Coach.

"We do need a doctor," Coach muttered softly. "Alan and Nick are going after that ninja woman right now. But Zoey needs you alright?" Nicole looked past Coach, staring at Doc and Jamie as they rounded a corner. She looked back at Coach and nodded. The three survivors quickly ran towards the other room to help Zoey.

* * *

"Hurry up," Diana softly ordered. "Let's get out of here…" The last of her soldiers piled into the vans which were in the museum's parking garage. She got in the back and slammed the door behind her. The vehicles roared to life and started to roll out.

Nick aimed his magnum and fired a few rounds at the vans. Unfortunately, the vehicles were bullet proof and Nick's shots did nothing. Alan shot past Nick, screaming as he pushed himself to catch up to the vehicles. The bulky survivor jumped forward and grabbed the back of one of the vans. He held on tightly before moving one of his hands down to open the door. He jiggled the handle, but it wouldn't open. Alan screamed before punching the door. He grabbed his shotgun and started using the butt end to bash the handle.

"Fucking OPEN!" Alan raised his arm to bash the handle again, but he was suddenly thrown back. The survivor screamed as he flew back, landing hard on his back. He slid across the pavement a bit before rolling back onto his stomach. He looked up, seeing Diana standing in the doorway, glaring daggers at him. Alan gasped in shock as he caught a glimpse of Maria in the van as well with a frightened look on her face. "DAMN IT!" Alan got up to his feet, pausing for a moment as pain surged through his body. The survivor started limping forward as the vans rolled into the distance.

"Alan!" Jamie ran up and moved in front of his friend. "Alan, she's gone!"

"No she's not," Alan screamed, shoving Jamie out of the way.

"You can't help her now damn it," Doc snapped.

"Get me a fucking van and I'll run every last one of those fuckers off the road!"

"Alan," Jamie shouted, physically holding Alan back. The bulky survivor cringed, closing his eyes tightly shut. Jamie let out a shaking sigh before whispering, "She's gone…" Alan screamed in fury, hurling his shotgun forward as it Diana was still there. The survivor fell to his knees, gripping his head in anger.

"FUCK!"

"She's not gone," Doc said sharply. Jamie and Alan turned around, giving their blonde friend a confused look. Nick walked up, also giving Doc a curious look. "I'm pretty sure I know who Diana is now, and where we can find the Director."

"What," Alan asked.

"Why didn't you mention this before?"

Doc shot Jamie a look, "You mean when we were fighting armed soldiers, running for our lives and coming up with suicidal plans against Williams, or while everyone else was fighting Diana?"

"Good point," Jamie murmured.

"How do we find these bastards?" Alan rose to his feet, turning towards Doc. The blonde jerked his head back, turning around before moving towards the museum doors.

**

* * *

Finishing one story leaves the door open to another. So yeah, Maria…kidnapped. How bout that? And yeah, Doc does have a plan worked out. He's so smart isn't he? Aren't you guys glad he's around now? So, the next chapter will probably be like a break chapter, sort of like the college chapter, just more drama heavy. Plus there will be some bonding with the other survivors from L4D2. And aren't you all surprised by how BA Coach was? As well as Rochelle and Nick? So, I hope you guys enjoyed this chappie and leave a review or eight on your way out lol =) Have a splendid day.**

**P.S. is it weird I posted a chapter full of betrayal, action, blood, swearing and violence on Valentine's Day? Poetic irony much? Hope it livened up your V-day people!**


	15. On the Road Again

Doc typed away on the computer Williams was working on before Diana and the survivors crashed his little party. The others stood behind the blonde, waiting to see what he was trying to do. If Doc was right, then he had just blown the truth right out of the water. Nicole was off to the side nursing Jamie's hand, which was burned badly from the stunt he pulled with the knife and open gas line. Nick stood over Jamie with a scolding look as Nicole patched up his hand. Zoey was sitting on Jamie's other side, staring at her fellow brunette's hand as the black haired doctor started wrapping it up.

"That should do it. Luckily your hand isn't charred."

"No third degree burns," Zoey asked. Nicole shook her head. "Damn, you could've outdone yourself with that Jamie."

"Right, the Live Free or Die Hard reference isn't good enough to take down a giant monster, I have to give myself third degree burns."

"Everyone knows that movie quoting is my thing," Zoey replied, a small smile forming across her lips. "Doing stupid and reckless things is yours."

"Right, forgive me for treading on your turf." Jamie turned his head, looking up at his uncle's angered face. "Get use to it: this isn't the first, nor will it be the last time I do something stupid."

"Not on my watch you're not," Nick replied, glancing down at Jamie's hands. "You're already covered in scratches, scars, and bruises. Now you can add burns to the list of reasons why your mother will kill us both." Jamie rolled his eyes, not wanting a lecture from his uncle. He got up to his feet and walked over towards Doc.

"Learn anything," Jamie called out.

"Well, I pulled up some files. Williams is one of the lead scientists in CEDA's European branch. He was called in to help once the infection broke out under the pretense that he could help study the virus." Doc pressed a few more buttons, pulling up a new window that showed the Director's face. "The good old Director…well not a whole lot I know about him. Very few people know his name, and he's never really been seen in public that much. Most of the announcements from him are made through other high up individuals in CEDA."

"What about Diana," Jamie asked. "Even if she's just like a hired assassin she's got to be high up on CEDA's family tree."

"I can't find anything on Diana," Doc replied. "Though I think I have a better understanding of who she is. It was something that Williams said 'the princess of CEDA.' There were rumors going around that CEDA's Director had some kind of heir. Nobody knew who of course, and hardly anyone knew the Director, so a lot of people labeled it as stupid tabloid crap." Doc turned around, his tone even and serious. "But, about a week before the infection, there was this strange woman showing up in all the press conferences involving CEDA officials. Some people thought she was some type of bodyguard or secretary. A friend of mine, somebody who worked for CEDA, said that he saw her around the company all the time. Her nickname was 'the princess.' She showed up and people practically bowed at her feet, figuratively speaking, and did whatever she said without question, literally."

"Well yeah, any idiot who knew what she could do to them better listen," Ellis piped up.

"Anyway, my friend told me that she was the Director's fabled heir: his daughter."

"His daughter," Coach shouted.

"Yeah, it would make sense!" Alan looked to Coach and the others, "Just before Diana left, when the Director snapped at her she like…regressed into a little kid who was beaten by their parents."

"So, the Director is Diana's father," Jamie said. "We have files on the Director, but none on Diana. What does that tell us?"

"That Diana is treacherous and is probably planning to stab daddy dearest in the back," Nicole suggested.

"No," Doc said. "She was way too loyal to him from what I saw. Maybe the Director wanted to keep her a secret for some reason."

"The super human abilities might be a reason," Zoey guessed with a shrug. "What causes that though? The Green Flu and D-enzyme combo pack maybe?"

"The Director said that the success rate for that was like nothing right," Alan reminded. "Would he really risk his own daughter like that?"

"Apparently he'd risk her safety to throw her to the dogs…or rather zombies." Doc rolled his eyes at Jamie's attempt at a joke.

"We can theorize all day, but we're not going to learn anything from this computer."

"Then why the fuck are we wasting time on it instead of going after Maria," Alan shouted. Doc quickly typed away on a few keys and pulled up a map. The survivors looked up at the screen, more specifically at a beeping red dot.

"This is the last known location of the Director before the infection hit. He's been listed as MIA for quite awhile now in official records. Wanna know something else? This building still has power. And according to the files Williams left behind, there are several floors underground. Now, why would a crazy madman need a few underground floors with a skyscraper on top?"

"Please tell me he's being rhetorical," Alan muttered, turning to Nicole. The black haired woman shrugged in response. Doc groaned, smacking his forehead in disbelief that Nicole was encouraging Alan.

"Are you guys always like this," Rochelle asked, leaning towards Zoey.

"Most of the time, yeah." Zoey turned to Rochelle and the others, shrugging a bit, "You get use to it."

"Can you download where that place is at," Jamie asked Doc.

"Done and sent to the laptop in the van."

"Then let's get going and kick some ass," Alan screamed. "WOO!" The survivors watched as Alan moved through them, acting like a high school football star.

"I like this boy's attitude," Coach exclaimed, smacking his massive hands together. "Let's go guys!" Coach moved after Alan who whooped once again in excitement. The large man laughed in enthusiasm before slapping his hand against Alan's.

Rochelle giggled at the two men, as did Ellis. Nick, Zoey, and Doc all rolled their eyes with a groan of disbelief. Jamie and Nicole simply smiled as Alan and Coach turned back to the survivors.

"What's wrong, you got bricks on yo feet," Coach shouted. "Get your asses movin!"

"You heard the man," Jamie exclaimed, trying his best not to laugh. "Let's move out! We got a little girl to save!"

* * *

Coach, Alan, Jamie, Zoey and Ellis got into the Z-Team's van while Doc, Nick, Nicole, and Rochelle took another van left behind by Diana's men. The gang also grabbed a pair of walkie talkies to communicate back and forth from the vehicles. Alan, of course, led the way in his van with Ellis as his designated 'wingman.'

"Get the fuck out of here," Alan exclaimed, turning his head to Ellis.

"I'm serious, my buddy Keith sat himself on fire, fell down a flight of stairs and smashed his head against a support beam. All for a Twinkie."

"So how did he set himself on fire again?"

"Well," Ellis began as he shifted his body to face Alan. "It all started when me and my buddy Keith were outside trying to chase tornados like a tornado chaser? Well, we didn't quite understand the meaning of the term, so we were actually running after the tornado."

"Is he just blowing smoke out of his ass," Jamie asked, aiming his thumb in Ellis' direction.

"Nah, he has a million and a half Keith stories," Coach replied. "Most of us have learned just to block it out. Seems like Alan there is just encouraging him."

"There aren't many things that can discourage Alan," Zoey said with a smirk on her face.

"Or any of ya'll for that matter. Aren't you guys worried about that little girl?" Jamie's features hardened while Zoey's eyes fell to the floor. "I'm not saying you don't care, but you all just don't seem bothered by any of this."

"We are," Jamie murmured. "But we know where Maria could be, we're going to go save her. We just pray for the best."

"Besides, Maria has been in worse situations than this before," Zoey added. The brunette turned to Coach, a small smile gracing her lips. "Awhile before we met you guys, Maria wasn't immune to the Green Flu. She got infected when a Boomer threw up on her. We took her to a CEDA outpost and Doc managed to fix her after hours of screwing with god knows what."

"So that's what the Director meant," Coach asked. Zoey nodded once, brushing her hair over her ear. "So what are we gonna do if we see the Director?"

"Probably kill and or beat the living crap out of him," Jamie stated.

"Now listen, I know you guys have probably gotten use to fighting Diana, and men turned into monsters in front of your eyes, but the Director is still a human. We can't just shoot him and turn a blind eye."

"This guy is responsible for the death of millions of people all for money. You honestly don't think he has this coming?"

"We ain't the law," Coach firmly stated.

"In case if you didn't notice big man: the law doesn't apply much out here," Alan called back. "You think that the Director can't just buy his way out of jail. And even if he can't, Diana or whoever else he has on a leash can just sell or release the virus anywhere they want. In the end we'd probably be doing the whole world a favor by killing this guy."

"I dunno...it just feels wrong to kill another man. Even if he does deserve it." Coach leaned back, sighing heavily. Jamie and Zoey exchanged worried glances to each other. They knew that this would weigh on the man if they went through with this.

Zoey turned her head, looking out the nearest window. She wasn't sure how good she felt about killing another human either. In theory it was simple, but she couldn't help but wonder if she would choke if the decision were up to her. Things were much simpler when she just had to worry about killing zombies. Now things were becoming more complicated with the global conspiracies, and a madman who was trying to further the infection for his own personal gain. What she wouldn't give to go back to the days where it was just her, Francis, Bill, and Louis fighting zombies day after day after day. The fact that Maria was in danger made this whole nightmare that much more of a reality.

With Bill, Francis, and Louis, survival seemed natural. It didn't take that long before doing what the gruff and tough war veteran ordered became as easy as breathing. It was either that or end up dead. The first two hours after losing those three was a brutal slap in the face of reality. It wasn't about survival anymore: it was about killing as many infected as she could. To avenge them. Then Jamie and the others came. After that, killing infected, surviving, it all seemed like one big game. They were indestructible together. They fought hordes of zombies and every other monstrosity with a joke or while singing a song of some sort. Now everything was being forcefully jerked back into reality, starting with Maria becoming infected. That moment, and every other moment afterwards, encountering the Lasher, Elliot, Diana, Williams, the Director, it ended the delusion that Zoey and the others were invincible. Now Maria was in danger again.

Zoey looked up, seeing Jamie talking to Coach while Alan and Ellis joked about in the front of the van. She looked at Jamie and Alan and knew without a doubt: they were masking their fear.

"So when was the last time you showered," Rochelle asked Nicole.

"To be honest: a couple of days ago." Rochelle's jaw dropped in disbelief. Nicole gave an embarrassed smile, "I was at a military outpost that still had indoor plumbing."

"I haven't showered in almost a month! You're so lucky."

Up in the front of the van, Nick glanced over at Doc in the passenger's seat. The two men had hardly said a word to each other since getting in the van. The women in the back were doing all the talking for both of them.

"So…" Doc's head bobbed back and forth, trying to think of something to continue Nick's 'conversation.'

"Yep…" Nick looked at Doc one more time before turning his attention back to the road ahead of him.

The conman had to admit he was a bit annoyed that a man around his age was letting Jamie run around and throw himself on every infected walking landmine out there. Still, Nick could remember when Jamie and Edward were younger. Those two were crazy little daredevils. Their mother, Kathy, would always get onto them, and then bitch at Nick for letting his nephews get away with doing dangerous stunts. Nick rubbed his forehead a bit in stress. If Kathy got mad when they would roll down steep hills or jump off the roof of a car, then lord only knows what she'd do to Nick when she found out all the things Jamie had been doing since the infection hit.

"So, any embarrassing stories you got on Jamie?" Nick blinked himself out of his thoughts and turned his head to the side. Doc was staring back at the conman with an expectant look on his face. "I mean was he a bed wetter, have an irrational fear of something stupid. Any dirt is fine." Nick, with a baffled look on his face looked to the road and then back at Doc.

"Why…does any of that matter?"

"He likes to talk shit cause I'm old, I'd like to have dirt on him." Nick let out a small laugh before looking at Doc with a smug smirk on his face.

"I can tell you now I have plenty of dirt on my nephew. The only problem is he's got more dirt on me than I'd like." Doc rolled his eyes with a huff and a smile as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

"That doesn't surprise me. But you're practically a criminal right? What dirt could he have on you that isn't already frowned upon by society?"

"He's family and-,"

"You never go against the family?" Nick let out an annoyed sigh, pressing his forehead against the steering wheel for a moment before turning his head towards Doc. "I'm sorry, they have the maturity of a second grader. It rubs off eventually." Nick rolled his eyes in disagreement before focusing back on the road. "You just wait. Sooner or later you're either going to become as immature as me, or as southern as Ellis." Nick snapped his head to Doc, who simply stared out the window.

He wasn't serious was he?

* * *

After almost two hours of straight driving, the survivors pulled over at a gas station to fuel up and use the restrooms. Nick, Alan, Coach, and Ellis all stood outside while the vehicles were filling up, shooting the breeze while the others went inside the station for whatever they could find.

Jamie pulled out a gallon of milk, only for the bottom to start leaking over the floor. The brunette cringed with disgust before tossing the jug to the side. "You know, it seems like we've been coming to gas stations more and more lately."

"We never use to drive so many vehicles," Doc replied. Jamie turned around, giving a puzzled glance over at the blonde. "Okay correction: we never use to have a vehicle this long without it getting trashed by something."

"That's better."

Zoey was dead silent as she started dropping chips, candy, sweets, and whatever energy drinks or sodas were still good into three separate duffel bags. Her mind was still racing about everything that had been happening recently. It was still difficult for her to wrap her mind around everything. She wondered if Jamie and the others even had a grasp as to what they were planning to do, or if they even understood that Maria was in a life threatening situation.

She barely remembered her short time with Elliot before becoming a mind controlled killing machine, but what she _did_ remember was a lot of pain. Pain that no little girl like Maria should have to go through ever in their life. She could hardly imagine what horrors the Director would force onto Maria.

"Everyone come on!" Zoey lifted her head up at the sound of Coach's booming voice. Before anyone could ask, the sound of gunfire jolted the survivors towards the door.

Zoey zipped the duffel bag closed and lifted it up around her shoulder as Jamie and Doc picked up the other two.

Alan was crouched in front of Nick, firing into the horde of zombies coming at them. Coach was covering the front door while Ellis got one of the vans started up. Nicole came out first with a pistol in hand as well as a plastic bag full of pills and other medical supplies. Rochelle came following behind her, armed with an assault rifle. The two girls moved towards the nearest van, firing at the zombies that got close.

"Man have I missed these things," Alan shouted happily over the sounds of his shotgun.

"Reloading," Nick snapped as he started pulling out the empty clip of his desert rifle. Alan laughed triumphantly as he blasted the chest out of a zombie. He pulled the trigger again, and heard a click. The blood drained from his face as he quickly scrambled for some shells.

"Reloading!"

"You have SHIT timing kid," Nick screamed as he just slammed a new clip into his rifle. One zombie pulled its arm back to swing at the two survivors, but was quickly shoved back violently by Nick. The conman fired a small burst into the zombie on the ground before looking up at the incoming horde. "I seriously hate these god damn things!"

"After all the shit I've seen I _LOVE_ THESE THINGS!" Alan finished reloading his shotgun and started firing again. Nick rolled his eyes, and practically his whole head in disbelief. Doc wasn't kidding when he said these guys were immature.

Jamie rushed out with an SMG, crouching next to Coach as they both started firing into the zombies that rushed towards them. Zoey and Doc sprinted past both of them and towards the vans. Doc headed after Nicole while Zoey went towards the furthest van, firing at a few zombies to lure their attention away.

"You go first big man," Jamie ordered. Coach fired one last shotgun blast then ran towards the same van as Doc and Nicole. Jamie took down two more zombies before heading to the other van.

Zoey stopped for a moment, shot two zombies in front of her, one to her side and then turned to kill another behind her. She quickly removed the strap from her shoulder and hurled the duffel bag into the van before focusing her attention on the surrounding zombies. The brunette jumped in fright when she heard a loud thundering noise. She looked up, seeing a Smoker standing on top of the van next to her, but staring out at something else. The zombie's tongue flew out of his mouth, and wrapped around Ellis' body.

"WHOA SHIT! HELP!" Zoey turned her body to face the Smoker and fire. Before she could however, a Jockey leapt off the ground and latched itself to her face.

"AGH! Damn it!" The Jockey forced Zoey back and smashed her head against the van. This caused the brunette to become dazed enough that she couldn't fight the short infected very effectively.

"Don't move!" Zoey was about to question the voice she heard, but suddenly cried out when she felt the Jockey's grip loosen on her. She blinked rapidly before seeing the Jockey fall to the ground, writhing in pain as it cackled madly, despite the bleeding gash in its side. She fired a bullet through its head without hesitation.

Zoey turned just in time to see Jamie spin around and hurl his blood stained knife in the direction of the Smoker on the van. The blade spun around through the air before it imbedded itself in an area between the Smoker's legs. The zombie's eyes widened before a pained, throaty cough escaped its mouth. Both Zoey and Jamie cringed in pain as the Smoker fell to its knees, eyes still about to pop out of its head. Zoey finally aimed one of her pistols and fired it right through the Smoker's head, causing a cloud of smoke to erupt out from around him.

The brunettes could hear Ellis coughing as he stumbled out into sight, "Thanks you two!"

"Get my knife," Jamie ordered as he turned to the nearest group of zombies. Ellis nodded then turned to the Smoker. He paused once he saw where the knife was located, but just yanked it out of its groin and moved towards the driver's seat.

"That was a nice throw," Zoey said as she stood against Jamie's back, firing at the zombies behind him.

"I was aiming for the Smoker's tongue," Jamie replied between his gunfire. Zoey paused, a look of confusion twisting across her face. She was tempted to ask if he was serious, but the zombies were a much more pressing concern at the moment.

"Alan, Nick, get your asses movin," Coach shouted as he reloaded his shotgun.

"Ladies first," Alan said to Nick with a cocky smirk on his face. Nick had the strong urge to smack Alan upside his head, but decided instead to run for the nearest van.

Alan pulled out his machete and started backing away while firing his shotgun from the hip. The zombies started to thin out, but all the survivors knew more would appear shortly. Alan climbed into the driver's seat of one van while Nick got into the other.

"Do a head count quickly, because I'm not turning around!" Jamie and Zoey quickly climbed into the back and closed the doors behind them.

Coach and Doc closed their doors shut as Nick slammed on the gas. The two vans screeched as their tires spun out and quickly sped through countless zombies. The survivors shot down the road with a horde of zombies rushing after them.

"Awe man, that was close," Ellis exclaimed, sticking his head out of the window with a hand on top of his hat so it wouldn't fly off.

"God, times like this makes me wish we never stumbled across all this conspiracy crap," Alan murmured, offering a small smile as he rested his muscular arm out of the window.

Zoey sighed, resting her eyes on the floor. She couldn't agree more with Alan there.

Jamie turned his head towards Zoey. He had noticed that she had hardly said anything ever since they left the museum. "Zoey…?" The young woman seemed to be startled at the sound of her name before she looked up. "Are you okay?"

Zoey almost felt like lying. She shook her head, pulling her legs up to her body and hugging herself tightly. Jamie scooted next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. Zoey hid her face from sight, burying her forehead into her knees. She didn't want Jamie or Alan to see her crying.

"We're going to get her back, okay?"

"Okay…" Zoey whispered, barely audible. Jamie pulled Zoey closer, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

Jamie rested his cheek against Zoey's hair, sighing ever so lightly. He honestly had no idea how they were going to save Maria. But he knew that they were going to. They _had_ to.

Alan looked back in the rearview mirror, seeing Jamie consoling Zoey. He knew what she was upset, or rather beating herself up about: losing Maria. For awhile, Alan was doing the same. But now that they knew where Diana and this Director guy where hiding out at, he was going to take Maria back no matter what. Losing Maria isn't an option for their team. Alan swore he'd get Maria back even if he had to kill every last one of those CEDA and zombie sons of bitches with his bare god damn hands.

Ellis turned forward and put his feet up against the dash in front of him. Though he was slow at times, the mechanic knew enough to know that the other three survivors in the van with him were hurting. Whoever this Maria girl was, she was close to all of them. Ellis looked up at the rearview mirror, feeling a pang of jealousy when he saw Jamie holding Zoey against him. The mechanic was smitten with the young woman at the moment he saw her. She was just…so beyond beautiful. Even covered in sweat, grease, blood, and guts, she was still the most stunning person Ellis had ever seen in his life. Ellis promised himself that he would save Maria, if only to see Zoey smile at him.

Time seemed to crawl at an agonizingly slow pace. It seemed like forever since the survivors last saw the sun setting. Jamie and Zoey were already asleep in the back while Alan and Ellis talked towards the front.

In the other van, Coach was in the passenger's seat and had fallen asleep a few hours ago. Nick drove, following right behind Alan's van. In the back, Nicole had fallen asleep on Doc's shoulder, much to the blonde's embarrassment. Across from the two, Rochelle smiled before leaning forward.

"Are you two together," the reporter asked softly. Doc snapped his head up with a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Uh…well we were." Rochelle tilted her head to the side, visibly confused. Doc looked at the slumbering Nicole and then shifted his eyes back to Rochelle. "We were engaged about a month or so before the infection hit. Then we kind of…separated. And then we found each other right before stumbling onto you all."

Rochelle smiled, looking at Nicole for a moment before turning her attention back to Doc, "You two make a wonderful couple, I'll admit." Doc gave a small smile and a faint blush at this. "So you two aren't back together?"

"Well, I uh…" Doc was cut off when Nicole murmured softly in her sleep. Both the doctor and news reporter turned to the slumbering woman and waited until she fell back asleep. Doc continued to pause until he was sure Nicole was asleep. "I don't think we are back together. We've just made amends with our breakup and…well I'm not sure where it's going to go from there."

Rochelle nodded, still smiling at the slumbering Nicole, "So what about Jamie and Zoey? I kinda picked up on something there too. Are they together?"

Doc shrugged, his face twisted in confusion as he tried his best to word the brunettes' situation. "They both…well they both like each other a lot. But they both decided that a relationship would be too distracting, and that they didn't want their feelings to be influenced by the fact that they could die any day now." Rochelle tilted her head a bit, face scrunched as she tried to process this. "I know, it doesn't make sense. Honestly I think it would be less trouble if they would just get together."

"Sounds like it," Rochelle muttered. The news reporter shook her head, leaning back against the wall behind her. "You all worry about enough without high school drama getting in the way." Doc let out a soft snort before nodding slowly in agreement.

Truth is that all the survivors worried about enough without being dragged down by drama. Doc always assumed that their nonstop joking and making light of life threatening situations was his group's way to keep from falling into that drama. Still, even now Alan, Jamie, and anyone else couldn't make light of their current predicament. Doc just hoped that the Director didn't have any new, insane projects he wanted to use on Maria. The blonde sighed as he closed his eyes to get some sleep, and ease his conscience.

Deep down, Doc couldn't help but think that it was his fault that the Director took Maria. He still remembered that night he worked tirelessly to make a cure, a vaccination, anything to help Maria fight the infection. In the end, his only option was something stupid, risky, and extraordinarily dangerous to save her.

"_I need a more thorough exam before I can even think of injecting her with this otherwise it could kill her!"_

"_She's dead anyway," Jamie exclaimed. "You've got to do it!"_

"_If I do it will kill her! We could just cut out the hours of pain she'll experience and just shoot her now!"_

"_Doc," Maria snapped. "I trust you. Please give me the shot…"_

Doc heaved a heavy sigh of guilt, wishing he could have explained what the vaccination he injected into Maria really was. He blocked out the voices and the memories at that CEDA laboratory, and finally let himself drift off into dreamland.

Zoey unzipped her jacket, looking at her patched up shoulder were Diana hurled a hunk of glass into it. The wound was still sore as could be, and the bandage was still red from the blood flow. Doc and Nicole both assured Zoey though that she could remove it once they got to the Director's building. Zoey gently patted her hand on the wound, cringing slightly in pain.

"You okay?" The brunette looked up, seeing Ellis looking back from the passenger's seat.

"I'm fine," Zoey replied, zipping up her jacket to cover the wound. She offered the mechanic a wary smile before pulling her legs up closer to her body. "Thank you though." Ellis returned the brunette a silly smile, causing Zoey to huff lightly in amusement.

"Um…my name's Ellis."

"She knows genius," Alan murmured next to Ellis. "We've all be introduced to each other."

"I-I know that," the mechanic stuttered nervously. "I just uh…wanted to formally introduce myself."

"Whatever. You're going to have to drive soon. I'm about to pass the fuck out." Alan let out a long, noisy yawn as if to emphasize his point.

"If I were you I'd pull over now so we can switch. This one time my buddies Keith and Dave wanted to see how far they could get in their truck before they fell asleep. 'Course it didn't help none when they took some drugs to make them go to sleep faster to 'spice things up.' They rolled the truck TWENTY FOUR times!" Ellis started laughing, smacking the dashboard as he bounced in his seat. "Oh man, Keith was in the hospital for WEEKS after that."

Zoey hummed softly, the smile never leaving her face. She looked across the van, noticing that Jamie was lying on the floor sleeping soundly. Her smile widened a bit when she saw how at peace Jamie seemed to be while sleeping. One would dare to say that by the look on his face that the survivors hadn't been fighting for their lives for over a month now. Zoey leaned forward, resting her chin on her knees. Her eyes began to droop a bit before she realized she was exhausted herself. Zoey slowly slid down and lied down on her side, using her arms to support her head as she closed her eyes, letting sleep take over.

* * *

In a few hours, the survivors entered the city that housed the last known location of the Director. The rolled the vans through the town, slowly and quietly. One could scarcely guess at what hidden surprises could be in store for them, or what type of zombies could be waiting in the wings. Once they rolled around one corner, the CEDA Tower was in sight, and they stopped.

Jamie and Coach both agreed moving forward on foot would probably be the smartest idea. Alan was equipped to the teeth with weapons, totting a shotgun, an assault rifle on his back, two pistols on his hips, and an SMG strapped to his lower back. To add to his overall commando look, he tied a bandana around his forehead.

Jamie looked over curiously as Alan tied the old rag around his head, "What's that thing?"

"It's something that…someone gave me awhile back. We ready to kick some ass?" Jamie turned around, looking back at the newest members of their group.

"Uncle Nick…Coach…" The newer survivors turned their attention to Jamie. The brunette turned and faced the four survivors. "There may be more than zombies waiting for us up ahead. That doesn't mean our lives would be in any less danger."

"I got no problems with this," Nick said, almost solemnly, as he slammed a clip into his assault rifle. "Wouldn't be the first time I would've had to use a gun against something other than a zombie. What about the rest of you?"

"You three can stay here if you don't think you can handle it," Jamie added quickly. He knew without a doubt that the rest of his group, even Nicole, wouldn't hesitate to kill if it meant saving Maria. "We'll probably need a quick get away vehicle anyway."

Coach heaved a heavy sigh, lowering his arms to his sides, "I'm sorry ya'll. I just can't justify killing another man. It's not in me."

"I'm not sure if I can either," Rochelle murmured.

"It's alright you guys," Nick reassured softly. "Ellis, you stay with them."

"What?" The mechanic did a double-take, outraged that he couldn't be with Zoey during this time. "Why do I have to stay with them?"

"One: you've never shot a man before. Two: we're not leaving an old man with a bum knee and a news reporter alone when there are zombies and crazy soldiers with guns running around. And like Jamie said: we'll need a quick getaway. I still have nightmares about riding in Jimmy Gibbs' car."

"You guys got to drive Jimmy Gibbs Junior's car," Alan asked, a newfound eagerness in his tone.

"Now is not the time," Jamie snapped. "Let's get moving, then once we get Maria we can talk about all the redneck NASCAR drivers we want." Alan shook his head clear, then nodded to the brunette. "We'll be waiting for you guys. Don't let us down."

"You got it," Coach replied with a firm nod.

Jamie jerked his head to the side, taking point with Alan and Doc right behind him. Nicole, Nick, and Zoey brought up the rear behind them, leaving Coach, Ellis, and Rochelle behind.

Zoey took a deep breath. This was it. She was going to have to kill. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her pistols tightly. This wasn't for her survival, this wasn't to have fun slaughtering zombies. This was to save Maria. A hardened resolve swelled up inside Zoey, letting her dedication and love of that sassy little black haired girl drive her today. Nothing was going to stop her.

* * *

The Director leaned back in his chair, taking a drink of his coffee while reading his files. Soon enough, Diana and her second Jeff entered the room. The black haired assassin had patched herself up quite nicely, hardly showing a scratch from her previous encounter with the survivors, and sported a new pair of sunglasses. "You called Director?"

"Yes. It's come to my attention that the survivors have made an appearance in the city." Diana's eyes flared in alarm, while a sharp hiss escaped her lips. The Director slowly sat the coffee mug on the table and looked at Jeff and Diana. "I don't want them to set foot inside the building upstairs. Understood? I'm too close to a breakthrough with the little girl to lose _anything_ now."

"I understand Director," Diana whispered, a hint of malice in her tone. "Come Jeff, we simply must set up a welcoming committee for these survivors." Diana turned around quickly and stepped out of the Director's office with Jeff following closely on her heels.

The Director huffed before taking another drink of his coffee, reading the file on a new strain of virus. With Maria's genetic base, he'd be able to make this virus successfully. And he was dangerously close to completing it as well.

* * *

**Ah, good old zombie time. Sorry about taking forever to update. The combination of dealing with personal drama, other people's personal drama, self discovery, as well as school work suffering due to the aforementioned junk takes its TOLL on a person. Plus I'm not good with these break chapters where nothing exciting happens. The next update will probably be faster, so no worries there!**

**Hopefully a few of you stuck around despite the small hiatus. Looking forward to replying to some reviews people =D Have a wonderful day everyone.**


	16. The Truth

Jamie slid forward on his ass into cover as bullets flew past him. Alan took cover next to Jamie, blind firing with a pistol. Between the two survivors and the squad of soldiers were piles of rubble and fire from the previous explosion. Behind the soldiers stood Diana, who was glaring fiercely at the two survivors hiding behind cover.

"Circle around," Diana said as she tapped her headset.

"_Roger,"_ Jeff's voice replied. Diana looked around, seeing zombies that had occupied the city, now swarming towards their location. After an explosion that big, she wouldn't be surprised if every zombie in the state moved in on their position.

"This is just GREAT," Jamie shouted, having a strong urge to smack Alan. "The helicopter crash sure as hell set a new record for dumbass mistakes Alan has made!"

"Hey, I didn't know it would take hit the skyscraper alright," Alan shouted. "And how was I supposed to guess it would take out the _whole_ thing?" Alan scowled in protest, standing up and firing four rounds. One soldier cried out before he fell to the ground.

Diana glared as she watched the soldier hit the ground. The assassin reached into her trench coat and pulled out a handheld explosive. She pressed a button on the top of the device and hurled it across the battlefield.

"Is that a…" Alan narrowed his eyes, leaving his sentence hanging in the air.

"FUCK!" Both survivors got up to their feet and dove over their wall of cover as the explosive landed behind them. As soon as it touched the ground, an explosion went off, destroying their cover and propelling them forward.

Alan and Jamie skidded across the ground, rolling onto their backs with a painful groan. "Stand up!" The two looked up, seeing that they were surrounded by Jeff and Diana's men. Jamie sighed heavily as he stood up, his hands above his head. Alan did the same, glaring at the soldier across from him. Diana made her way across the battlefield, glaring at the duo. "I must admit, you're both rather annoying pains in my ass." The assassin aimed her pistol at Jamie. The brunette groaned, knowing this whole event could've been avoided if only a certain muscle headed idiot would've listened to him.

* * *

_The survivors ran through the city, gunning and running as zombies pursued them. Alan seemed to be enjoying himself more than the others on the matter. He blasted the last of the zombies while the others took cover in an alleyway to catch their breath._

"_At this rate the Director will hear us coming before we can get to him," Doc breathed. "Subtlety is out of out the window unless we do something different."_

"_I'm up for kicking down the door and kicking some ass," Alan stated._

"_And if we do that, then the Director would hold Maria against us and get away. _With _her." Alan mumbled angrily, holding his shotgun over his shoulders._

"_I'm actually rather surprised by the lack of human presence around the area," Nicole piped up. "When you think about it, even the Director couldn't leave things to chance. I mean he would have to have some type of convoy or patrol out to make sure the zombies don't get too close to home. Snipers alone couldn't do it, and could be picked off by special infected."_

"_She's right," Doc murmured._

"_But most vehicles are shit too when encountering Tanks, or even Chargers," Nick pointed out. The conman turned his head, thinking he heard something before continuing quieter. "Unless they had an actual military tanks right?"_

"_Too slow," Alan replied. "Trust me, I know." Nick turned to Jamie, questioning if he was serious. The conman was actually worried _how_ Alan got his hands on a military tank._

_Doc pounded his fist into his open hand as his eyes lit up, "Helicopters!" The survivors looked at the blonde curiously. "There are no airborne infected, and Smokers or Hunters would have a hell of a time trying to get up to them! You could fly in the sky and just gun down infected without worry of casualties."_

"_Smart idea," Nicole agreed, looking to Jamie._

"_How come we haven't heard any flying around? In a city as dead as this it would be kind of hard not to hear a helicopter." Doc crossed his arms, wondering that question himself._

_Zoey chimed in to Jamie's question, "Maybe they're on set patrols? They take off and fly around at certain times instead of continuously. It would save them gas and time." Doc, Jamie, and Alan all looked to each other, silently agreeing._

"_So…if that's true, and we haven't heard any helicopters," Nicole began. "Then that means one of them is grounded, so we can hijack it!"_

"_Subtlety, GOODBYE," Alan screamed._

"_Why do I get the feeling this'll end badly," Doc questioned._

* * *

"That time of the month right," Alan joked. Diana shot a sharp glare at the survivor before throwing a kick into his side. Alan groaned, wavering slightly, but stood back up. "Oh sorry, did I strike a nerve?"

"You're lucky I don't strike more than that," Diana seethed.

Jamie decided to move forward as Diana was distracted. In the blink of an eye, the assassin whipped out a knife and held the tip at Jamie's throat. The brunette mentally cursed himself.

Alan threw his arms down, grabbing the man with the rifle in front of him and throwing him onto another two soldiers. Diana snapped her head around in shock. This gave Jamie a window of opportunity as he knocked Diana's arm to the side, grabbing her wrist and throwing a fist at her face. Diana ducked under the strike, and then threw her head up against Jamie's mouth. The brunette cried out, stumbling back in pain.

"Kill him," Diana ordered. One soldier aimed a pistol as Jamie came stumbling towards him. The brunette looked up in horror as the soldier aimed a pistol between his eyes. Before the soldier could fire, a bullet whizzed through his chest. A pained groan escaped his lips before he fell back, blood gushing out of a hole in his chest. "What the?"

Alan grabbed Diana's arms and yanked her back violently. The assassin cried out in shock, placing her feet firmly on the ground. She threw her head back against Alan's nose, causing him to cry out and release her. Diana quickly spun around, crouching lowly to the ground as she kicked Alan's feet out from under him.

Jamie grabbed his knife and rushed towards Diana.

"That helicopter wasn't cheap you know," Diana stated firmly, twirling her knife around as she glared at Alan. "And neither was that building."

"So sue me."

"Too much paperwork. I'd rather just kill you." Diana inhaled sharply as she held the knife high above her head. Alan cursed himself, almost wishing he hadn't destroyed the skyscraper. Almost.

* * *

_The survivors found one of the parked helicopters, surrounded by a group of four soldiers. Two of them looked like the pilot and co-pilot and sat around playing cards while the other two sat in the cabin of the helicopter._

"_There they are," Nicole whispered. "Plan of action?"_

"_We have a sniper rifle right," Nick asked. Zoey looked over her shoulder to said weapon, then at Nicole who also carried the same firearm. "You two take out those two in the cabin since they're the most heavily armed. I'm sure we can handle the other two."_

_Nicole and Zoey both nodded wordlessly. Jamie placed his hand on Zoey's shoulder. The brunette looked at the hand, then followed it up to Jamie. "Are you okay with this?"_

_Zoey smiled, placing her hand on top of Jamie's, "This is to save Maria. There's no doubt in my mind." Jamie smiled back and nodded. Zoey's words brought a smile upon Nicole's face as well, reassuring the female doctor. "Wait for our signal before shooting. We can take them out quietly if we do this smart."_

_The men moved around while the two female snipers positioned themselves across from the soldiers in the cabin._

_Nick and Alan hid in a nearby building, less than ten yards away from the card playing duo. Jamie and Doc where hiding in the doorway of said building, having a clear viewpoint of the two women. Jamie looked to Nick and Alan, both of whom nodded as their lifted up their pistols. The brunette looked back to the women who were focused down their scopes._

"_Go," Jamie whispered._

_Alan popped out of one window, aiming his pistol as Nick did the same thing in perfect symmetry. They both fired one shot clean through the two pilots' heads. The men fell back in a lifeless heap, hitting the ground hard._

_One soldier stuck his head out of the cabin to look back at the noise while his partner simply arched his neck. The second soldier was shot clean through the heart by Zoey. The first soldier flinched when he heard his partner's body shake violently. Nicole put a bullet clean through the first soldier's head._

_The survivors waited for a moment, making sure that there weren't any others hiding in the wings or any zombies that would coming rushing out of the shadows. After about a minute, Jamie and Doc moved out into the open. Alan and Nick climbed through the windows, checking the pilots' bodies for anything of value._

_Jamie circled around the helicopter one way while Doc went the other way. The two grabbed the soldiers' corpses and dragged them out of the cabin._

"_Man, who pulled off the headshot," Doc asked, grimacing as he struggled to not look down._

"_That would be me," Nicole boasted happily, shouldering her rifle as she walked out of cover._

"_Nice shot," Doc sarcastically replied. Nicole blew the blonde a mocking kiss as she headed towards the helicopter. Zoey followed Nicole, looking at the chopper skeptically._

_Nicole turned around, noticing Zoey's uneasy look. "Are you okay?"_

"_Yeah…I've just had a bad experience with helicopters…"_

"_I want to clarify one thing right now," Nick shouted. "If whoever pilots this damn thing starts turning into a zombie, I have complete leeway to shoot you alright?" Zoey blinked rapidly in confusion. She turned to Nick, wondering if the conman had somehow read her mind._

"_You…shot a pilot too?"_

"_Of for the love of-," Nick smacked his hand to his face then turned to Zoey._

"_He was a zombie," the two said in unison. Nick paused, confused by how she knew what he was going to say. Jamie, Doc, and Alan all looked to each other with the same confused and puzzled look as well._

"_I had to do the same thing. Did you get shit for shooting him too?"_

"_Oh, Ellis still gives me shit," Nick exclaimed. "He was a freaking zombie! I shot a zombie!"_

"_Preaching to the choir," Zoey said, throwing her arms up in agreement._

"_Are those two bonding," Jamie asked, almost with a frightened tone._

"_Who cares, let's just jump in and get ready to kick some zombie ass!" Alan was the first to climb into the helicopter._

"_Can we pilot this thing," Doc asked Nicole. The doctor shrugged before heading towards the helicopter._

_After a few minutes of screwing with the controls, Nicole and Doc finally figured out how to work the chopper. The survivors took off and then headed towards the CEDA building. As soon as the survivors headed towards the building, they saw a massive courtyard around the building, nearly as long as a football field._

"_Damn," Alan boomed, "Someone has a freaking ego!" Before anyone could make a sarcastic reply back, bullets started flying up at the helicopter._

_Doc jerked the chopper to the side while everyone else looked out to the side. On the ground were nearly a hundred soldiers, all firing upon them. Jamie, Zoey, and Alan scowled when they saw Diana standing in the center of the group looking up at them._

"_Alan, let's man the guns!" The bulky survivor nodded and followed Jamie back into the cabin._

"_Suck on this suckas!" Alan immediately started firing the turret on the side of the helicopter down into the group of soldiers._

_On the ground, a few soldiers cried out as the bullets pierced through their body. Diana gasped as she snapped her head up, watching the survivors fly overhead. Her eyes narrowed before a bitter huff escaped her lips, "So…they're not afraid to kill are they…?" Diana motioned for Jeff to take a group and cut around the side. The soldier nodded then took a few men with him. Diana then tapped her headset, "We need air support. One of the helicopters has been hijacked by the survivors."_

_Jamie and Alan both poured the bullets down on the soldiers while Nicole and Doc rocked back and forth between the bullets. Zoey was having trouble going back from the cockpit to checking on Jamie and Alan. The brunette turned her head around, and blinked in shock when she saw an assault rifle in her face. She followed the arm holding the gun to Nick's sly grin._

"_Care to help out cupcake?" Zoey narrowed her eyes and snatched the gun._

_The two survivors moved back to the cabin, Zoey sitting next to Alan while Nick sat next to Jamie. Zoey and Nick fired shorter, well aimed bursts while Alan and Jamie just rained them down._

"_Oh shit," Doc shouted. "Guys we got trouble!" The four survivors in back all looked forward, seeing another helicopter coming towards them._

"_SON OF A-," Alan's swearing was cut off when the helicopter was jerked to the side to avoid a series of bullets. The sudden movement nearly threw everyone out of the chopper._

_Zoey quickly pulled out her sniper rifle and leaned back out, realizing that they would be passing right by the other helicopter. She aimed forward, looking through her scope for a second before looking back at the enemy chopper. She took a deep breath then pulled the trigger. A loud bang rang out just as the other helicopter flew by._

_Alan leaned out, watching the other chopper as it passed by. Soon enough, two bodies from either side of the chopper fell out as it turned around. Alan's jaw dropped before he started laughing triumphantly. Zoey couldn't help but grin at the impressive shot she just pulled off._

"_I got a plan Jamie," Alan shouted as he stood up._

"_Ah shit," the brash brunette practically screamed._

_Diana's eyes widened slightly in amazement as she watched two gunners from the chopper fall to the ground and hit with a hard thud. The assassin scowled angrily, looking back up at the two choppers. She narrowed her eyes, noticing that Zoey had taken over one of the gunner's positions._

"_What are they planning…?" The survivors' helicopter flew towards the other chopper, looking as though it was going to collide. At the last second, the vehicle jerked to the side, narrowly passing by their chopper._

_Alan and Jamie grunted as they jumped into the other chopper. The brunette started breathing heavily in shock, hardly believing what they had just pulled off. Alan looked up, seeing the chopper's co-pilot rushing towards them, screaming bloody murder with a knife in hand. Alan quickly rose to his feet and blocked the man by the wrist with his forearm. The survivor then grabbed the man's shoulder and threw him out of the helicopter. The co-pilot flailed about as he screamed in terror while plummeting to the ground._

_The pilot reached for his pistol and turned, but before he could aim he noticed Jamie pointing his pistol at him from the ground. "Call me Han Solo, because I _will_ shoot first." The pilot scowled, tossing his pistol back to the survivors._

"I would kill them if I were you," _Diana's voice came through the pilot's speakers. _"Because if you don't kill them now, you don't want to know what I'll do to you if you survive."

"_Damn it," Alan snapped. "Could've had _four_ turrets but no!"_

_The pilot jerked the chopper to the side, throwing Jamie out of the chopper. The survivor quickly grabbed onto the railing outside, his body flailing around uncontrollably. Alan managed to stay in and quickly rushed the cockpit. Alan grabbed the pilot's wrists, trying to wrestle control free from him. Outside, Jamie was screaming at the top of his lungs as he held on for dear life._

_The chopper spun around and around while circling around the building itself. Diana couldn't help but follow the chopper out of sheer curiosity._

_The other survivors in the chopper kept their distance, but followed the other chopper closely._

_The pilot growled as he reached for Alan's holster. The survivors' eyes widened in shock as the man pulled his pistol out on him. Alan quickly ducked under the first shot and pushed up on the man's arm without thinking. The man pulled the trigger as his arm was pushed up, blowing his brains out. Alan groaned in disgust as he looked at the dead man._

"_DAMN IT ALAN!" The bulky survivor looked back as Jamie climbed into the cabin._

_Alan opened his mouth to ask what he was complaining about, before the pilot's body fell forward, pushing the controls forward. Alan looked out of the window, just as they smashed into the ground, shaking the chopper violently. Jamie stumbled around, almost falling flat on his rear. Alan gripped the back of the seats as the helicopter started spinning around and around while moving forward._

"_Jump out," Jamie ordered._

"_Are you fucking—of course you're not kidding!" Alan tried to make his way back to the cabin as quickly as he could. Once the two survivors were together, both Jamie and Alan jumped out of the opposite ends of the chopper. They hit the ground hard, and rolled over and over before coming to a stop._

_Alan and Jamie groaned as they sat up, looking in the direction the chopper was spinning towards. To their shock, it was heading with surprising speed towards the front door of the CEDA building._

"_Oh you have got to be kidding," Jamie murmured._

"_Holy mother of—DUCK!" Jamie and Alan rolled over onto their fronts and covered their heads._

_The chopper slammed through the bottom floor of the CEDA building, sliding across the ground and demolishing the insides before it finally slammed through the support beam with an explosion._

_Diana's eyes widened in shock as she heard the explosion around the corner. She heard the loudest groaning sound she had ever heard and looked up at the skyscraper. Another explosion went off around the corner where the first came from, and then another went off on the opposite end of the building._

"_You're joking," Diana whispered to herself. "GET AWAY FROM THE BUILDING!" Diana and the other soldiers bolted for as far as they could get from the skyscraper._

_A few more explosions went off before the building started leaning the opposite direction. Alan couldn't help but peak back, seeing the skyscraper falling _away_ from them. "HOLY SHIT YES!" Alan sat up with the biggest grin on his face. Jamie looked at his partner then further back at the skyscraper. The brunette sighed and sat up too. "TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMBER!" The building came crashing down, throwing tons of dirt._

"_Get down!" Jamie and Alan both spun around, covering their heads as a wave of dust came flying their way._

"_Holy," Nick exclaimed loudly. The dust almost reached them, had Nicole not pulled up higher into the air. "Do you guys usually do stupid shit like that?"_

"_This is actually a new record for us," Zoey replied, almost gapping entirely in shock._

_The dust stopped flying, but had gone far from settling as Jamie and Alan sat up, coughing furiously. "My mouth is caked with dirt," Jamie shouted angrily. "How did you manage to take down an entire fucking SKYSCRAPER?"_

"_I don't know," Alan replied between coughs. The survivor then spat a large wad of dirt filled saliva to the side. "That was impressive though right?"_

"_WHAT IF MARIA WAS IN THERE?"_

"_Doc said there were underground rooms," Alan snapped back. "She'll be fine so stop stressing!" Gun fire went off around the duo, causing them to quickly get up and run for their lives._

_Jamie slid forward on his ass into cover as bullets flew past him. Alan took cover next to Jamie, blind firing with a pistol. Between the two survivors and the squad of soldiers were piles of rubble and fire from the previous explosion. Behind the soldiers stood Diana, who was glaring fiercely at the two survivors hiding behind cover._

"_This is just GREAT," Jamie shouted, having a strong urge to smack Alan. "The helicopter crash sure as hell set a new record for dumbass mistakes Alan has made!"_

* * *

Before Diana could stab downward, Jamie dove forward and tackled her, distancing her from Alan.

The bulky survivor got up, groaning a bit as he recovered. The sound of a man screaming at the top of his lungs caused the survivor to whirl his head around. A soldier was being eaten alive by a group of zombies, while hundreds more came rushing towards them.

"Oh son of a bitch!" Alan started moving backwards, firing a pistol into the horde of zombies.

Above, their helicopter flew by, both ends firing a stream of bullets that ripped through the zombie army. "Keep her steady sweetheart," Nick shouted into the cockpit.

"You wanna fly this thing, be my guest," Nicole called back from the cockpit.

"Just shut up and shoot," Doc snapped at Nick.

Jamie stabbed forward. Diana simply sidestepped, grabbed Jamie's wrist, spun around and threw the boy over her back. Jamie bounced off the ground with a painful thud as his knife clattered between him and Diana.

Diana turned her head as Alan swung his machete at her neck. The assassin stepped back, jerking her head away from the blade while keeping her eyes on Alan. The bulky survivor then threw his gloved fist forward. Diana caught the fist with her bare hand. Alan scowled in anger. Diana quickly threw Alan's arm to the side then used that same hand to punch the survivor in the face.

Alan groaned as he staggered back before he glared at Diana, "Will you seriously STOP doing that?"

"Punching you? I don't think so." Diana threw her fist into Alan's face again to prove her point. The survivor stumbled backwards again before tripping over a piece of rubble. "I'm going to enjoy this far more than I probably should…"

"Me too actually." Diana narrowed her eyes as she watched a devious grin cross Alan's face. The assassin's head snapped up when she heard an inhuman shriek dangerously close. A Hunter lunged forward, claws outstretched and ready to cut into the assassin.

Diana quickly spun to the side as the Hunter passed her. The zombie quickly faced Diana, growling lowly and dangerously. Once again, the Hunter lunged forward. Diana moved to the side, spinning her knife around before stabbing it into the Hunter's forehead. The assassin quickly pulled her knife out as quickly as she stabbed it into the zombie's face and pulled her arm away. The Hunter didn't lose any momentum as it flew forward and smacked into a stone, mangling its face even further.

Diana looked over to the ground, noticing that Alan was already gone. She looked into the distance and saw a group of zombies all rushing towards her. The assassin showed her teeth in a vicious snarl, fiercer than any zombie's.

Alan ran up and joined with Jamie, who was running towards the helicopter which landed in front of where the CEDA skyscraper use to be. Inside the chopper, Doc shot the controls to pieces so that Diana or any of the other soldiers couldn't use it later.

"So what now," Zoey asked as the helicopter blades started to die down. "Alan took out a skyscraper, so we have about a mile of rubble to dig through to find the Director or Maria."

"There are underground levels people," Alan shouted. "Am I the only one who remembered this? And I didn't _mean_ to destroy an entire skyscraper. Though it's kinda cool that I did isn't it?"

"Yeah, freaking amazing," Nicole said with a roll of her eyes. "We need to find an entrance to the underground levels. Stairs, elevator, something."

"Try a big hole in the ground now!" The survivors looked over, seeing Doc looking down at the ground. They approached the blonde and followed his gaze to, sure enough, a hole in the ground. "Probably use to be an elevator shaft…but got fucked up because the whole building fell over." The survivors shot a glare at Alan. The bulky survivor looked back up at the others and heaved a heavy sigh.

"I'm never going to live this down am I?"

"Probably not big guy," Jamie answered. The brunette looked around for anything of value that could help them get down the shaft without plummeting to their doom.

"Hey, over here!" All eyes went to Nicole, who pulled something out of the helicopter. In her hands were two very long harnesses used for rock climbing. "There are two more in the chopper. They should be able to get us down the shaft."

"Hopefully it's not too horribly long," Doc murmured in disapproval.

The survivors tied their ropes to the helicopter, and fastened their harnesses to their waists. Jamie went down first, followed by Zoey, then Alan, Nicole, Doc, then Nick. The two doctors shared one of the ropes while the two brunettes shared another.

Off in the distance, Diana turned her head just as the survivors went down the destroyed elevator shaft. The assassin scowled furiously and moved to follow after as one of her own soldiers was constricted by a Smoker behind her.

Diana rushed forward as quickly as she could, leaving her men to fend for themselves against the zombies. Once she neared the broken elevator shaft, Diana dove forward, headfirst downward.

* * *

As the survivors slowly continued downward, Zoey stopped for a moment and looked up. The rest of the survivors stopped as well and looked up at Zoey curiously. "What's up," Jamie asked. The question was soon answered as Diana materialized out of the darkness.

The assassin grabbed onto Jamie and Zoey's rope, quickly flinging herself against the wall of the shaft. Jamie pulled out his knife and swung upward at Diana's feet. The assassin pushed herself against the wall then slammed her foot against Jamie's wrist, pinning his arm to the wall.

Alan sprung off his wall and wrapped both arms around Diana, holding her firmly in place. The assassin lifted her foot from Jamie's wrist, placed them against the wall and shot herself backwards. She slammed Alan into the wall behind them both, making a dull thud. This caused the bulky survivor to release the assassin, who still held onto Jamie and Zoey's rope.

Diana quickly kicked Jamie in the face then climbed up to get Zoey. The brunette released the rope, letting herself and her harness zip down at Diana. The assassin quickly sprung off the wall, letting go of the rope to grab onto Alan's. The former cage fighter reached up and grabbed Diana's ankle. The black haired woman slid down the rope a little to kick Alan in the face, forcing him to release her. Diana quickly climbed back up the rope and dove at Zoey. She used her whole body and smashed Zoey between herself and the wall. Diana, holding onto the rope just above Zoey's head, flipped over the survivor then sprung for the area between Doc and Nicole.

Doc pulled out a pistol and got ready to aim, but Diana brought both of her knees down on the blonde's face. The force of the hit caused Doc to bash the back of his head against the wall behind him. Diana then pulled her lower body up, wrapping her legs around the rope, and then pulled her upper body upward towards Nicole. The black haired doctor let go of the rope, sliding down her harness. Diana quickly unwrapped her legs from the rope, and grabbed on with her hands just above Nicole, narrowly avoiding the impact. Nicole quickly latched onto the rope to stop herself, just as Diana put her knees around the doctor's head. Diana huffed with a slight smirk on her face, ready to break Nicole's neck before she heard someone zipping down.

Nick smiled at the assassin, pistol in hand, but not aimed at her. "Hi there," Nick greeted before shooting the rope above both black haired women. Diana snapped her head up, watching as the last threads that held the rope together gave out.

Doc yelped with fear, quickly grabbing the bottom of Jamie and Zoey's rope, which brought Nicole and Diana flying in the same direction before the rope slipped out of their harnesses. While falling, Nicole and Diana were upside down, but the former managed to grab onto the rope with her hands and legs. Diana, still having a hold of Nicole, bashed her own head against the wall, causing her to momentarily release the survivor and plummet down the elevator shaft.

The survivors all looked down as Diana disappeared into the darkness. After a few moments of silent panting to catch their breaths, Alan looked up at everyone. "Okay, so did she seriously just kick all our asses in an elevator shaft?"

"Not now Alan," Jamie snapped angrily. "Let's just get down there before she comes running up the walls."

"Can she do that," Alan asked. Jamie groaned, rolling his eyes in frustration. In all honesty the brunette didn't want to try his luck with that.

The survivors started going back down the shaft, slower than before since Doc and Nicole weren't harnessed in. The group continued to slide down, but stopped when they heard something strange. All eyes looked down, seeing an elevator coming towards them.

"What the—there's nothing pulling it up though," Nick snapped.

"Well it could use magnets, or electric currents," Doc replied, giving a small shrug.

"Regardless, I think it's going to hit us," Zoey stated in a panicked tone.

Jamie undid his harness then quickly released his rope, falling past Doc and Nicole. He grabbed the rope again, sliding down rather quickly. Once he got close to the elevator, he bounced off the wall and landed on the top of it.

"Oh," Alan exclaimed. "Good job Jamie!"

"That was reckless and stupid," Nick shouted in a scolding tone.

Jamie rolled his eyes as he pulled off the grate on the top of the elevator and jumped in. He took a moment to examine the buttons and saw the 'stop' button. A smile of victory crossed his face as he reached for the button. Suddenly, Jamie stopped. The brunette groaned, slowly turning his head. Behind him, Diana stood with an all-too-smug smile on her face.

"Oh son of a-," Diana lunged forward, cutting off Jamie's swear.

"It's not stopping," Nicole pointed out as the elevator kept moving closer and closer. The survivors wondered what was going on, but then saw Jamie's body fly past the opening, followed closely by Diana.

"That bitch," Zoey shouted.

Doc and Nicole slid down the rope, already having their harnesses undone, and quickly hopped on the elevator. They didn't spare a second and jumped in, Nicole kicking Diana in the back as she entered. The assassin cried out and stumbled forward, rolling to the side to avoid falling into Jamie. Doc rushed towards the buttons and immediately pressed 'stop.' The elevator jerked a bit, causing Diana to lose her balance.

Jamie swept his leg across the ground and knocked Diana's feet out from under her. The assassin cried out in fury and surprise, falling onto her side with a thud.

"Oh this is a dangerous game," Nicole murmured, stepping back from the assassin.

Diana spun around on her back, her legs flying out at the survivors. Jamie stumbled back in shock, hitting against the wall lightly. Diana quickly hopped to her feet, whipping out a pistol which she aimed at Nicole. As she fired, Doc pushed the firearm up into the air. The bullet pierced the roof and wedged itself in the outer shaft's wall. The blonde growled in anger as he pushed Diana back towards Jamie. The brunette spun around and threw a kick into Diana's lower back. The assassin cried out, stumbling back towards Doc and Nicole.

"ALAN SWAN DIVE!" Diana stopped and snapped her head up just as Alan jumped down into the elevator. The bulky survivor slammed on top of Diana hard, forcing her to the ground. "Gotcha baby!"

Diana roared in fury, rolling herself and Alan over. She threw her legs up, hooking her high heels around the inner railings of the elevator. Diana pulled on the railing, slipping out of Alan's grasp. She unhooked her heels, spun around as she pulled her legs up towards her. She then placed her hands on the same railing, and then shot her feet out into Alan's chest with full force. The bulky survivor cried out, flying back into the opposite wall.

Jamie pulled out his knife, spinning it around to a reverse grip as he swung the blade at the assassin. Diana pulled her legs back up next to her hands then vaulted backwards over Jamie and his strike. She landed on the opposite railing, above Alan and whipped out another pistol.

Before she could fire, Zoey hung upside down from the opening at the top of the elevator, aiming her pistol right between Diana's eyes. The two women froze in place, staring down the other's barrel. Zoey couldn't help but smirk, having Diana at a standstill. Despite herself, Diana found the smile to be infectious.

Alan simply looked up from the ground, back and forth between the two women. Finally, he sprung up, throwing Diana's arm upward while grabbing her ankle. Zoey made a frightened face before disappearing back up on top of the elevator. Alan spun around, holding Diana by her ankle and swung her into the wall with all his might. The impact shook Diana's whole body, causing a stifled groan to slip through her teeth. Zoey slipped back down into the elevator, having her pistol at the ready.

Diana growled furiously, swinging her free leg up and nailing it to the side of Alan's head. The survivor cried out, stumbling out of the way as Diana planted that same foot on the ground. Zoey aimed her pistol forward and fired a shot at Diana. The assassin simply ducked under the bullet, spun around on her heel and kicked Zoey in the side. The brunette cried out, doubling over.

Nick jumped down into the elevator, attempting to stomp Diana into the ground. The assassin simply spun and moved out of the way, facing Nick. Diana took note of the brass knuckles he wore just before the conman threw a punch.

Unbeknownst to both combatants, Doc attempted to try and sneak around behind Diana. The assassin ducked a second before Nick threw his fist. Doc's eyes nearly flew out of his head before he ducked as well, causing Nick to punch the elevator doors.

Diana threw her elbow back, slamming it into Doc's nose. The blonde stepped back, crying out in pain as he held his nose. Diana then reached up and grabbed Nick's arm to make sure he couldn't use those dangerous knuckles again. She thrusted her open palm into Nick's stomach. The conman lurched forward, a muffled cry cut off from all the air that flew out of his lungs. Diana spun around, and then swung Nick around to send him spinning like a top.

The assassin pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose before taking note of Jamie, Zoey, and Alan behind her, while Nick, Nicole, and Doc were in front of her. "Now this…might actually be challenging." She of course, referred to the enclosed space in which they had to fight. Diana quickly shot towards the buttons and pressed down and then the stop button again. The elevator jerked, throwing the survivors off balance, giving Diana a window of opportunity.

* * *

On the bottom floor, the entire area was a stainless steel color. There were a few windows, and on the other side of those windows were infected of every shape and variety.

The elevator bell chimed, and the doors slowly opened. As soon as they were open, Alan came stumbling out like a beaten drunk before tripping over himself and hitting the floor. The survivor groaned as he shook his head, looking around and noticing zombies all around him, trying to break through a sheet of glass.

"What the fuck…?"

Jamie roared as he threw his fist across Diana's face. The assassin was thrown off her feet and slid backwards on her side. Jamie knelt down and picked up his knife while the other survivors got out of the elevator and surrounded Diana. The assassin quickly sprung upwards onto her feet and glared angrily at each and every one of them.

"Well, you all are quite persistent aren't you?" All heads turned around to the sound of the new voice. On a balcony above everyone else stood the Director in a black suit, with a black turtle neck sweater underneath it, patches of white hair around the sides while the top of his head was covered in jet black hair.

"Oh, that was easier than I thought," Alan stated with a goofy grin. "Found the Director, found Diana, now we need Maria!"

"Well, I'm afraid Maria is feeling a bit…under the weather." The survivors all scowled at the Director's statement. Diana took this opportunity to rush past Alan, run towards one of the corners in the room, bounce back and forth between the walls before landing on the same balcony the Director was on. "You'll have to come back for her another time."

"What did you do to her you son of a bitch," Zoey snapped angrily, aiming her pistol at the Director's chest.

"Nothing really. I'm just extracting blood and DNA samples from her. She has quite the interesting genetic makeup for a girl who's not immune. Wouldn't you agree Richard?" All heads except Jamie and Alan's turned to Doc. The blonde himself turned away, scowling at the floor.

"Doc…what's he talking about," Zoey asked, lowering her pistol.

Doc's face hardened as he turned back to the other survivors, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. He let out a heavy sigh before looking up at Zoey, "In the CEDA laboratory, when Maria was infected…that vaccine I made…didn't do anything against the Green Flu." Now, Jamie and Alan turned their attention to Doc. Everyone had perplexed, worried looks, which didn't make anything easier for Doc. "It was a risk, but I used a combination of the Green Flu and other chemicals and vaccines to make something…different."

"What do you mean," Jamie questioned, the anger in his voice rising.

"I couldn't make the vaccine to kill the Green Flu in the early stages like the other scientists did. I'm a doctor, not a scientist. What I ended up making…was another strain of the virus." Jamie, Alan, and Zoey's eyes widened with shock, a simultaneous gasp echoing between them.

"Oh god," Nicole whispered, covering her mouth.

"The Green Flu messes up and changes a person's genetic makeup. Maria wasn't immune, and the Green Flu was killing her. She wouldn't be a zombie, she would've been a corpse."

"So you inject her with the Green Flu," Alan shouted in outrage. "Adding more of that fucking virus to her to help her? How does that make sense?"

"I wanted to run more tests," Doc shouted right back. "But you all wanted me to inject her! She wanted me to inject her! There was an equal chance that she would've died with the virus, or that she would've become some new zombie, or that she'd live—there were too many possibilities for me to make a fair judgment! It was the only hope, and it was stupid I know!"

"There could have been long term affects you idiot," Jamie snapped bitterly, throwing his arm out angrily. "What if we were sleeping and Maria became a Witch and killed us all in our sleep!"

"I knew there could've been long term affects damn it! That's why I did the follow up exams! The virus I made reacted well with her genes, and it wasn't mutating her, it wasn't killing her!"

"To Richard's credit: that's the best result you could ask for," the Director chimed in. "A person's whole genetic makeup is attacked by the Green Flu. Maria's strain of virus doesn't. You could think of her as a living vial of a special Green Flu."

"I'm going to deal with your bitch ass in a minute," Zoey, of all people, shout as she aimed her finger at the Director. "Doc, you LIED to us! _ALL_ of us! You couldn't have told us what you were injecting her with? Or at least tell Maria what your stupid plan was!"

"There were no negative results," Doc screamed. He groaned, putting his hand to his forehead in stress. "I'm sorry, but I didn't see how it would've mattered. The Green Flu was staying passive in her body. I figure once we were safe, out of the infection, I could work with CEDA and find a way to slowly remove the Green Flu from her body. You all didn't need to know or worry about it."

"Oh we wouldn't have been worried Doc, we'd be FUCKING PISSED," Jamie yelled out at the top of his lungs.

"What do you want from me," Doc snapped, throwing his arm out to the side. "She's alive isn't she? She's not immune! How was I supposed to know that this crazy bastard would take her for his personal science experiment?"

Without warning, Alan charged Doc, screaming as loud as he possibly could. Doc's eyes widened in shock before he was tackled forcefully by Alan. Jamie growled, rushing forward to stop Alan. The bulky survivor started choking Doc with one hand, and began punching him in the face with the other. Doc's face turned beat red as he threw a solid punch back across Alan's face.

Nick ran up, pulling on one of Alan's arm, "Come on, get off him ya idiot!"

Jamie got on Alan's other side and wrenched his hand off of Doc's throat, "Now isn't the time for this!" Blinded in rage, Doc threw another punch across Alan's face. The bulky survivor roared in fury, breaking his arms out of Nick and Jamie's grasp before he started choking Doc again. "GOD DAMN IT YOU TWO!" Uncle and nephew pulled back on Alan's arm, trying to get the man himself off Doc.

Nicole moved around and knelt down above Doc's head, attempting to hold his arms down, "Richard! Stop it!"

Jamie managed to get one arm around Alan's neck, using his other to try and hold his bulky companion's arm in place. Together, Nick and Jamie managed to get a kicking and screaming Alan off Doc. The blonde attempted to get up and continue attacking Alan, but Nicole firmly gripped his shoulder.

"Stop this NOW," Nicole snapped, slapping her ex-fiancé across the face. Doc gasped lightly, as if he came out of some type of trance.

"You lying piece of shit," Alan shouted, trying to break out of Jamie and Nick's grasp. "How could you do that to Maria? After all we've been through, you inject her with that fucking virus?" Doc's eyes fell to the floor, full of remorse. Nicole sighed lightly, keeping her hands on the blonde's shoulders.

In the sidelines, Zoey watched the entire scene with a cold, empty stare. She didn't know what to make of everything. She couldn't justify Doc's actions, and him lying to them, but she had to admit that Alan flew off the handle with that. She wanted to smack Doc across the fast at most, not attack him like a wild animal.

"Oh my Director," Diana cooed mockingly, "it seems like you've caused some problems for our dear survivors."

"My mistake," the Director replied with a sharp, cold tone. He clearly didn't care about any of the survivors.

"Why are you taking this so fucking personally," Doc muttered, snapping his eyes back up at Alan. "Jamie protected Maria the most, Zoey was the one who bonded with her. YOU'RE the one who got her infected because you're too fucking cocky!" Alan's face turned red with rage before he thrashed around even harder than before. Nick and Jamie groaned in effort, trying to hold Alan back, but he was about to slip out.

"So it's _MY_ fault you put the Green Flu in her? It's my fault that she's fucking dead, because I was cocky?"

"She's not dead," Zoey snapped defensively.

"Oh, I don't think he's talking about Maria now," the Director replied, "Are you Alan?" The bulky survivor continued to fight against Jamie and Nick's hold, either ignoring or oblivious to the Director's words. "I think he's talking about Joy." Alan froze, eyes wide with horror. Jamie and Nick both gave each other a puzzled glance before looking down at Alan.

The expression on Alan's face was one Jamie had never seen before: despair. Tears then flowed down around the corners of Alan's eyes. Jamie gasped every so lightly in shock, unaware that he had let go of Alan. Nick did the same, letting Alan catch himself against the floor with his hands.

Zoey looked at Alan with worry filled eyes, wondering what could have turned the raging Alan into…this. Doc and Nicole both stared over at the former cage fighter with confused stares.

A cold, heartless laugh caused everyone except Alan to turn to the Director. He looked down, a wicked smile on his face. "Background checks can be so useful against survivors you know. I learned quite a bit about you Alan. And your baby sister."

Zoey, Jamie, and Doc gasped in shock, their eyes as wide as saucers before turning back to Alan. The survivor tried to hold back his sobs, a weak whimper or two escaping as he curled up on the floor a little. Jamie simply gapped in shock and disbelief. Alan never mentioned anything about his family, except his mother left him and his father was a good for nothing drunk.

"Your sister, Joy," the Director continued, pulling out a file he held behind his back. "Age…oh, she just turned nine recently." A broken sob flew out of Alan's mouth. "Or at least she would have turned nine…"

"Shut up," Alan murmured softly, and weakly.

"If I'm not mistaken, she's reported missing, after the first reports of a Witch tore through and killed every single inhabitant single handedly. The same building that you lived in with your family…and little Maria next door." Another pained sob came from Alan as the tears flowed out of his eyes and onto the floor.

This time, all the survivors looked at the broken form that was Alan on the ground. Jamie wondered if Alan knew Maria before the infection. Neither seemed to have known each other before the infection, or at least they never mentioned it.

The Director flipped a page over, a smile on his face. "But your family wasn't home at the time. At least you and your sister weren't. You managed to get her to an evac zone and saw her into a helicopter…which crashed."

"Please stop…"

"That's enough," Jamie said to the Director, keeping his eyes on Alan.

"What do you have to remember her by? That bandana you're wearing now, but what else? You went back to your apartment, why? To find Maria, Joy's only friend." Jamie and Doc's eyes narrowed. That would've explained why Alan mindlessly attacked that Witch in the apartment they found Maria in. "You thought if you could save Joy's friend that would make up for your inability to save her?"

"Shut up," Alan repeated, weaker than before. Guilt and anguish bore down on him like a pair of angry Tanks, crushing him beneath.

"Or maybe…you were trying to replace Joy with Maria…?"

"SHUT UP," Alan shouted, his voice cracking from grief. "Please just shut up…" Jamie knelt down, putting a supportive arm around his friend who cried like a child.

"I'm sorry Alan," Jamie whispered. The brunette turned to the Director and Diana, his face as hard a stone. "You know, a friend of mine said that it's wrong to take another man's life. But ya know what? You're less human than those monsters you created. I swear I'm going to see you dead before this infection!"

"How very noble of you," the Director said with a role of his eyes. "But you'll have to work hard to kill me boy." The Director shifted his gaze to Diana then turned around. After his first step, Diana stepped between the survivors and the Director. The two soon disappeared in the shadows.

Jamie turned back around, kneeling down next to Alan, putting his arm around the bulky survivor's back. Zoey walked up, kneeling down on the opposite side and did her best to hug Alan's curled up form.

Doc's eyes were glued to the floor, feeling as guilty as he could. Slowly he rose up to his feet and walked forward. Nicole followed behind him, ready to stop him if he lost control again. Doc stopped in front of Alan and knelt down, putting one hand on his friend's broad shoulder.

"I'm sorry Alan. I'm sorry Jamie…Zoey. I should've told you guys. I should've told Maria. If you want to keep kicking my ass, then do it after we've saved Maria." Jamie and Zoey took their eyes from Doc and looked at Alan, whose only motions were when his body twitched with sobs. "I don't blame you for what happened to Maria, Alan. I was just angry. I didn't mean it. And what happened with your sister…that wasn't your fault either."

Nick crossed his arms, feeling sympathy for Alan. It wasn't too long ago he thought he'd never see any of his family again. The conman looked up a bit. He had never really believed in a god or anything like it, but he thanked whatever higher power that he was reunited with one of his nephews.

"Just before Maria woke up," Doc began softly, "when we didn't know if she was going to be fixed or a zombie back in the CEDA laboratory…you said that we were like family right?" Doc tightened his grip on Alan's shoulder as he continued, "I think of you as my family too Alan. Not just because of what you said back then, but because of all we've been through. All the times you and I have stood back to back, killing god knows how many zombies together. That stupid game where you and I would keep score on who killed the most zombies. All the insults, the bickering, the life threatening situations you've put us in…all of those times…I felt, have brought us closer."

Jamie turned his head to Doc, his expression softening from his threatening the Director earlier. Zoey, with her head resting against Alan's back in a hug, smiled warmly at Doc. The blonde let out a sigh, mustering the courage to continue.

"It's my fault things are the way they are now. If I told you guys about Maria, what I did…maybe we would've watched her more closely and been able to protect her. The situation she's in right now is _my_ fault Alan. But I'm going to keep going to protect my family, to save Maria. You with me?"

All eyes were on Alan. The bulky survivor remained motionless for a moment. Silence filled the room as everyone waited for a response. Finally, Alan slowly moved to sit up. His eyes were red from all the crying, and his face was stained with tears. Despite that, a small smile was on his lips.

"I'm with you…" Doc couldn't help but smile, along with Nick. Jamie gave a small laugh of relief, patting Alan on the back. Zoey and Nicole both grinned, overjoyed that Alan was back to himself again.

Slowly, the survivor extended his arm out, his palm facing the ground. Doc smiled at him, placing his hand on top of Alan's. Jamie then brought his hand down on Doc's. Zoey grinned then did the same. The survivors looked to each other in their circle, smiling at one another.

"The Z-Team is incomplete," Jamie stated. Alan gave a small laugh at this, causing the rest of the team to smile bigger than before.

"We need the designated driver of the group," Zoey added.

"You got me don't you," Alan said.

"We need our _good_ designated driver," Doc jested. Alan glared with a smile at Doc, elbowing him lightly.

Nick simply had his hands in his pockets, a smile on his face as he watched the sight. Before he thought of his nephew's group as a punch of immature idiots. Now he saw firsthand how close they actually were. Dare he say it, but they were closer than his group. Nick was happy, to say the least, that his nephew found such amazing friends during the apocalypse.

Nicole continued to grin, keeping her eyes on Richard. He had changed SO much since they last parted ways. She couldn't believe that this was the same man in front of her. Richard had indeed become a new man. A man Nicole thought she could love again.

The Z-Team looked up at Nicole and Nick, who were a bit taken back. "You two, what the hell are you doing," Jamie snapped.

"Get your asses in here and join the team," Zoey added with a smile on her face.

"Actually we need their hands, not asses," Alan corrected. Zoey shot him a joking glare, causing Alan to laugh lightly.

Nicole smiled, approaching the team first and kneeling down between Zoey and Doc, putting her hand on top of the former's. Nick shrugged then walked forward, kneeling down between Alan and Jamie, putting his hand in the group as well.

A loud, sudden hissing noise caused the survivors to snap their heads around. The glass display windows holding the zombies back started opening up slowly. The Z-Team rose to their feet, standing with their backs facing one another with smirks on their faces.

"Well, this'll get us back in the swing of things," Jamie said.

"Damn straight," Alan murmured as he tightened the headband his baby sister gave him. "The Director is going to be WISHING I'll be as merciful to him as I will these zombies."

"And that's saying a lot," Zoey agreed with a nod of her head.

"Hey Alan," Doc said, checking his assault rifle before aiming it at the window. "Wanna keep score?"

"Sure, I can prove how much more of a badass I am than you." Zoey and Jamie rolled their eyes, looking at one another with the same look on their faces.

"Here they come guys," Nicole said in anticipation.

"Happy fucking new year," Nick shouted before firing his magnum.

* * *

The Director and Diana entered an operating room with poor lighting. Diana looked over to the side of the room, seeing Jeff leaning against the wall with an annoyed look on his face. Diana looked back at the Director who curiously inspected a syringe of light green liquid. It looked slightly thinner than most strains of Green Flu.

"Why was I brought here," Jeff asked angrily, looking over his shoulders at the escorts that took him away from the battlefield. "I can't do half the shit Diana can against those survivors." Diana simply nodded to the two soldiers behind Jeff. The men grabbed Jeff and forced him onto his knees. "H-hey, what the fuck?"

"You're going to be the first of my test subjects with this virus," the Director murmured, uncapping the syringe. "You have Maria to thank for this new mutation."

"Y-you can't be serious! You want to make me into one of those monsters?"

"No survivors," Diana said with a smile on her face. "You're a survivor, thus you can't be trusted with anything more than the virus." Jeff glared at Diana, trying to fight against his captors as the Director approached.

"N-no! NO!" The Director leaned forward and stabbed the syringe into Jeff's neck and injected the virus. "S-STOP IT!" Jeff cried out in pain, flinging his arms forward as the virus coursed violently through his body.

"Get Maria onto the helicopter," the Director ordered Diana. The assassin nodded then exited the room. The Director looked up at his two soldiers who started stepping away from the infected Jeff.

The infected soldier spun around, roaring as he started ripping the other soldiers apart and began devouring them. The Director smiled then walked back out of the door, closing it behind him.

* * *

**Damn I'm good. I actually skipped school today, not **_**just**_** for this story though, but it was part of the reason, so that explains the quick update. REVIEW AWAY!**


	17. The Completed Z Team

"COME ON YA BLOOD DROOLING FREAKS," Alan shouted as he blasted away with his shotgun into a horde of zombies. Doc stood on the other side of an automatic door, trying to get the damn thing to close while the rest of the survivors rushed inside. They got to the point where too many zombies had been released for them to handle on their own.

"Got it," Doc exclaimed, snapping his head up. "Everyone hurry up!" The doors started to close slowly.

Zoey, Nicole, and Nick were the first ones through the door, turning around to fire out into the horde of zombies. Jamie barreled through a small group of zombies, rushing as quickly as he could with a Witch hot on his trail. The brunette couldn't help but question why the Witches ALWAYS came after him.

"Take it," Jamie blurted out as he bolted past Alan. The bulky survivor aimed his shotgun to the side, firing the last shell as the Witch flew by him. The zombie's head scattered into bits and pieces of a bloody shower before Alan turned and followed Jamie.

The two had to duck down and hop into the small opening, which was closing fast, but they barely made it.

Jamie let out a heavy sigh of relief before turning around back to the door, "Is it just me, or are we fighting our way through _more_ zombies than usual?"

"That must mean we're getting closer to the Director right," Nicole questioned. "Why else would there be so much…well, security."

"Good, I can't wait to punch that bastard's face in," Nick exclaimed, slamming his fist into his palm.

"If anyone is going to be punching his face in I call first dibs," Alan replied firmly as he reloaded his shotgun.

"Guys, check it out." All eyes turned to Doc, who was staring at the wall. "There's a hanger this way," the blonde pointed to the left, looking back at the others with a smile on his face. "I figure the Director would try to make a break for it if he could."

"Then let's head there and-," Jamie was cut off by the sound of a distant roar that echoed off the walls. All the survivors looked down the opposite end of the hall where the roar came from, seeing nothing but darkness.

"Why do I not like the sound of that," Doc questioned.

"Knowing our luck it's probably some type of new special infected the Director created special for us," Jamie said with a rather frustrated tone.

"Well why don't we just mosey on over to the Director, and whatever he made he'll just have to deal with on top of us," Alan suggested.

"Then we'd have to deal with Diana, and this new special infected," Doc corrected. "I'm not even fond about dealing with the former."

"Unless this special infected goes after the Director, then Diana would have to take care of it and-," Alan was cut off by a pained howl, which was much closer than the roar they heard a moment ago. The survivors looked back down the hall, hearing heavy panting and labored breathing coming their way.

Soon, they were able to discern a figure walking out of the darkness, dragging the corpse of a Tank in hand. The figure wasn't much larger than an average human, but what stood out was its grossly mutated left arm. The person, or rather, creature's skin was ghostly white, with dark black and purple veins running around its body. Its legs were grossly mutated as well, slightly grown out to the point where the creature had to bend its knees and slouch in an awkward manner. Pieces of its skin were even shedding around the chest and knees. Its left side was becoming so muscular it started fusing with its face and head.

Nicole gasped lightly once she saw the creature's face. She put a hand over her mouth, in shock at what she was seeing, "Jeff…"

"Who," Doc questioned.

"Wait, Jeff, the guy at Dead End who started working for Diana," Zoey asked.

"The same Jeff whose ass I totally kicked at the museum later," Jamie added.

"I'm pretty sure that's Jeff," Nicole confirmed with a nod. "He started working with CEDA and they mutated him?"

"Does it surprise you, knowing who's in charge of the company," Alan questioned bitterly. He cocked his shotgun and glared at Jeff, "I say bring it on ya pasty bitch!"

Jeff pulled his arm out of the Tank's back, revealing that his fingers had been fused together to make one extraordinarily large claw. The infected soldier let out a roar that shook the walls, a roar twice as terrifying as a Tank's.

"Okay, maybe not so smart to challenge the big new infected we know nothing about," Doc suggested.

Jeff suddenly looked back down at the Tank and stabbed its body again with its left claw. The survivors all made a puzzled expression with their faces, wondering what the beast was planning. Before anyone could make a smart-ass remark, Jeff bit down into the Tank's skin and started eating it. Most everyone turned away at the disgusting sight, with the exception of Alan and Doc. As Jeff continued to munch on the Tank's body, Doc began to notice the infected soldier's right arm began to wriggle around. Soon, the muscles in that arm began to bulge, and swell up.

"Oh you have _GOT_ to be fucking kidding me!" The rest of the survivors looked at Doc curiously, wondering what he was talking about. "We've got to run, NOW!" Jamie looked over at the infected Jeff with a look of bewilderment before he noticed its right arm becoming larger and larger.

"Oh shit, RUN NOW!" Jeff arched his spine backwards, letting out a feral cry before he lunged forward like a Hunter.

"HOLY-," Alan was cut off when Jeff slammed into him full force. Luckily, the survivor raised his shotgun up to shield himself just in time. His shotgun was cracked in half, but he was still alive and mostly unharmed.

Jeff pulled his beefy arm back, but let out a shriek of pain before he could punch Alan. Jamie wrapped his arm around Jeff's neck and pulled back with his knife wedged in its back. The infected solider roared and then threw Jamie over his shoulder and slammed him onto the ground.

Jeff looked up at Alan who stared getting up off the floor. The infected pushed its head forward, shooting a long, slimy tongue from its mouth. The pink muscle wrapped itself around Alan and pulled back on him hard.

"Wh-what the hell!"

Jamie gripped his knife tightly and stood up, swinging his blade to cut the tongue in one swift motion. The infected Jeff howled in pain, stumbling back as it put its claw and muscled hand over its mouth.

"Jeez, does this thing have all the special infected's powers," Jamie questioned, pulling out a pistol with his other hand.

"Yeah, we should just call this one Zombie Skrull!" Jamie blinked in confusion before turning around to face Alan. The bulky survivor looked up at Jamie, almost expectantly. "Marvel…Fantastic Four super villain…Super Skrull? Has the powers of all the Fantastic Four and—JAMIE LOOK OUT!" The brunette whipped his head around, seeing the claw coming right at his face.

Jamie quickly fell flat on his back with a hard thud, watching as not only the claw, but apparently Jeff's whole arm flew past his face. Jamie watched as the limb came sliding back past him and closer to Jeff's body.

"Oh, and he can do that Lasher thing too," Alan stated with a ticked off tone. "Zombie Skrull it is!"

"Screw naming it and shoot it!"

Before Alan could shoulder his assault rifle, one bullet tore through Zombie Skrull's back. The infected turned around, facing Zoey who had her sniper rifle aimed at the beast.

"Get moving to the hanger," Zoey shouted. "Make sure the Director doesn't leave here with Maria!"

"What about-,"

"There's four of us and one of it," Doc snapped, cutting Jamie off. "Maria is more important, now GO!"

Alan and Jamie shared the same, reluctant glance. But they both knew that it was for the best. The duo looked back at the other survivors as Zombie Skrull raced towards them. "Please be safe," Jamie whispered. The brunette and Alan ran off in the opposite direction, leaving their friends to deal with the new infected.

"Wait, damn it! Why do I always get left with these new special infected," Doc asked himself.

* * *

Jamie and Alan rushed down the hall headed towards the hanger. They rounded a corner, seeing a couple of soldiers disappear around a different corner. Behind the soldiers stood Diana, who watched them for a moment before turning to the survivors.

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN BITCH!" Alan rushed forward with his assault rifle and began firing. Diana spun around the corner for cover from the bullets. Jamie quickly chased after Alan, having his pistol and knife in hand.

Alan rounded the corner, aiming his gun down the hall. Before he could fire, Diana's long leg shot out and kicked the gun out of the survivor's hand. The fury on Diana's face showed that she was in no mood for game. The assassin spun around, ducking down as she thrusted her elbow into Alan's stomach. The survivor cried out, leaning forward as Diana grabbed his wrist. The assassin screamed as she spun Alan around, slamming him hard on the ground.

Diana snapped her head up as Jamie sprung over Alan who started rolling away. The brunette swung his knife down at Diana, who quickly side stepped. The assassin pulled out her knife and swung it at Jamie. The brunette spun around, blocking Diana's strike with his knife. The survivor threw his fist forward, but the assassin caught it effortlessly. Diana tightened her grip around Jamie's fist, pulled him forward and then threw her knee into his stomach. The blow knocked the wind out of Jamie, causing him to fall onto his hands and knees. Diana quickly spun around and ran down the hall.

"That bitch," Alan groaned. "She's not even trying."

"Why would she," Jamie replied before he started coughing. "S-she could just get on the helicopter or plane with the Director and leave Zombie Skrull to kill us."

"Or maybe blow up the whole base…" Jamie's eyes widened before he snapped his head towards Alan. The bulky survivor thought about what he said and slowly turned back to Jamie. The two survivors held their worried and questioning stares on one another for a moment. After about a minute, they both quickly got up on their feet and ran after Diana.

* * *

Doc ducked as Zombie Skrull swung its claw at him. The infected claw tore through solid steel like it was cardboard, causing Doc to reconsider if he should be the distraction. Zombie Skrull turned around then breathed a cloud of acid, similar to a Spitter's. Doc quickly turned and ran, feeling the slight, burning as some acid trickled on his back.

Meanwhile, Zoey was disassembling a few pipe bombs, and repurposing them. Luckily for her, Francis and Bill showed her time and time again how to make the pipe bombs. Now she needed one _big_ bomb. Nick stood over her, acting as a last line of defense if Zombie Skrull found them.

"You almost ready cupcake," Nick asked, growing impatient.

"Fuck you Colonel Sanders," Zoey snapped. "This isn't like picking a lock, otherwise I'd leave that to you." Nick huffed, admiring the girl's spunk if nothing else. The conman looked up, seeing Nicole on the upper balconies waving down at them.

"Nicole's ready whenever you are," Nick looked back over his shoulder at Zoey. The brunette bit down on some duct tape and pulled out nearly a foot of it. Nick rolled his eyes at the amount of tape she was going to use.

Doc ran backwards, pouring his bullets into the relentless zombie. Evidently it gained the Lasher's healing factor, as well as its ability to lash its arms out. It didn't help that one arm was one giant Witch claw and the other was just another Tank arm. Either proved to be a lethal blow to him. Zombie Skrull roared as it started picking up pace, holding its beefy arm out in front like a Charger. Doc looked over, seeing a fire extinguisher on the wall. He quickly grabbed it and threw it across the floor. The object slid towards the charging Zombie Skrull. Doc crouched down, lining up his sights. He fired a few short bursts. After about four bursts, one bullet hit the fire extinguisher right under Zombie Skrull's feet. There was a deafening boom and a huge cloud of white.

Doc quickly got up, keeping his sights focused on the cloud of white. Suddenly, Zombie Skrull's roar echoed throughout the room as it lunged at Doc. The blonde yelped then quickly rolled to the side just before the infected slammed its massive fist into the ground. Doc quickly scrambled to his feet and ran away.

"Ready," Zoey said, turning to Nick as she layered up the duct tape. "You might want to clear out, because this is going to be one hell of a boom."

Nick nodded then looked up at Nicole, giving her the signal. The black haired doctor waved in acknowledgement, not taking her eye out of the scope.

"Let's kick ass." Zoey nodded then followed Nick out into the room.

Doc rounded a corner, stumbling as Zombie Skrull smashed a few glass containers around him. The blonde quickly cursed and then continued to run as the infected rounded a corner. In the corner of the room, there was a strange cackling noise. Doc turned his head just as a Jockey lunged at him. The blonde screamed before falling to the ground as the Jockey flew over him, landing on a table. Doc rolled forward and turned to Zombie Skrull. Before he could fire though, the Jockey sprung off the table and onto the larger infected. Zombie Skrull screamed in fury, trying to pull the little clawing zombie off his face. Doc stared in curiosity for a moment before he turned around and started to distance himself.

Zombie Skrull finally impaled its claw through the Jockey, and then flung its corpse to the side. There was a wet smack as the Jockey corpse smacked against the wall. The special infected roared then chased after Doc as he rounded a corner.

"Doc," Zoey called from across the lab. The blonde turned his head, but kept running. "The bomb is ready!" Zoey pointed in the general director of said explosive.

"GOTCHA! Go help Jamie and Alan! They're gonna need it!" Before Zoey could protest, Doc sprinted out of sight with Zombie Skrull hot on his heels.

"You heard the man, come on," Nick said, pulling on Zoey's arm. The brunette scowled in reluctance. She didn't want to leave anyone behind. Especially not now. "Zoey, come on. Doc and Nicole can handle this. We got everything set up for them. Jamie and Alan are gonna need help against that psycho bitch."

Doc slid under a line of pipes in his way, then quickly rolled over a few crates. Zombie Skrull simply plowed through these obstacles and continued forward. Doc rounded the last corner, seeing the bomb strapped to the wall. He looked up to the balconies, seeing Nicole was prepped and ready.

The black haired doctor steadied her breathing as she focused in on the bomb. She just had to wait on Richard now. Suddenly, a loud shrieking noise was heard. Nicole looked up, seeing a Smoker fall down from up high and land standing above her. The survivor quickly rolled over as the infected attempted to impale her with her claw.

"Richard wait!"

Doc slowed down, looking up at the balcony to see his ex-fiancé in danger. The blonde scowled, wanting to help but he might shoot Nicole in the process.

The black haired doctor rolled over again as the Smoker attempted to claw her again. Finally, the infected shot its tongue out around Nicole's neck, strangling her. Nicole gasped desperately, trying to pull the tongue off her throat, but to no avail. Finally, Nicole reached for her pistol strapped to her hip. She quickly aimed and fired four rounds, two through the chest, one through the neck, and the last right through the forehead. The Smoker exploded in a cloud of smoke, causing Nicole to cough furiously. She quickly rolled over onto her stomach and zeroed down her sights.

"Damn it," she cursed as the smoke fogged up her line of sight. Close by, the low growl of a Hunter caused the doctor to turn back around with a panicked look. The growl was followed by a short shriek as the Hunter lunged, and then a yelp of pain accompanied by a few rounds from an assault rifle.

"Nicole, you okay?"

"Nick," said doctor asked. What was he still doing here? Not that Nicole was particularly ungrateful, but she was curious.

"Take the fucking shot!"

"There's too much smoke!"

On the ground, Doc squared off with Zombie Skrull, which approached him slowly. The blonde quickly raised his weapon and started firing. The bullets pierced the zombie's skin, but its healing factor quickly closed them up.

"Hey ugly!" Doc and Zombie Skrull turned their heads to the side, seeing Zoey crouched down and looking through the barrel of her sniper. "Eat this!" Zoey fired one round. The bullet traveled through the air, passing right under Zombie Skrull's left arm and landed directly on the bomb Zoey made.

A thunderous explosion shook the room, erupting outward in a storm of fire and smoke. Doc was thrown onto his back while Zoey covered her head and turned away from the explosion. As the smoke settled, Zombie Skrull was blown to bits and pieces, with one giant chunk of his torso ripped open and its head reduced to mush.

"You okay Doc," Zoey asked between coughs, attempted to swipe the smoke away.

"Peachy," the blonde called out, groaning and coughing as he sat up.

Suddenly, out of the smoke came out a few normal zombies. Zoey's eyes widened before she took aim and started firing again. Her bullets ripped through the zombies, but more and more of them appeared out of nowhere. The smoke and dust settled more, revealing that the explosion had blown a hole through about three feet of concrete with a thin lining of steel. Now all the zombies from the outside were pouring through.

"Shit, shit, SHIT," Zoey shouted. Doc quickly got up to his feet and started mowing down the zombies, but had to reload almost instantly.

Suddenly, bullets from another direction rained down on the zombies. This prompted Zoey to turn around and look up, seeing Nick and Nicole firing down upon the infected horde.

"We'll cover you," Nicole shouted. "Go help Alan and Jamie!"

"There's another door up here," Nick added before anyone could argue. "It goes towards the hanger so we'll be right behind you!" The conman started pouring bullets into the hole in the wall, taking down nearly a dozen zombies. "Close the doors behind you so these bastards don't follow!"

"Come on Zoey," Doc called out. The brunette quickly turned around and followed Doc. The two ran into the hall that read 'hanger.' Doc quickly pressed a few buttons, causing a door to slowly slide down from the ceiling. "That should hold, but we'll close a couple of others to be safe."

"Gotcha," Zoey agreed with a nod of her head. She was still concerned about Nick and Nicole though. The blonde and brunette continued down the hall, hearing a few dull fists on the other side of the door.

* * *

The hanger was larger than expected. There were two helicopters, one larger than the other, almost looking as if it were military issued, and four of the black vans that Diana and her men traveled in.

"Get the specimen loaded up on the transport helicopter," the Director ordered, pointing to the larger helicopter. One soldier carried a barely conscious Maria against his chest. The young girl had her chin resting on the man's shoulder and was hardly aware of what was going on around her.

"MARIA!" All heads turned to the opening, seeing Jamie and Alan running into the room. "Let her go you bastards!"

"What he said," Alan added, raising his assault rifle and opening fire. The soldiers and the Director flinched a bit, and then immediately started firing back.

Alan and Jamie ducked behind cover as the bullets flew past them. "Good idea," Jamie shouted. "Just open fire!"

"I saw Maria! I knew I wasn't going to hit her!" Jamie rolled his eyes then popped out of cover, firing his SMG at the soldiers. He didn't have time to waste arguing with Alan.

A pair of soldiers dropped from Jamie's gunfire. Alan popped up, unloading bullets from his assault rifle. Another three soldiers behind crates on the other end of the hanger dropped to the ground.

A couple of soldiers stood on the upper balconies, firing back at the survivors and forcing them to duck behind cover. From the opening, one shot rang out, tearing through that soldier's head. A last groan of life escaped his mouth before he fell over the railing in a lifeless heap, catching his partner's attention. Another shot rang out, killing the second man who fell over the railing too and hit the ground.

Jamie and Alan looked at the opening of the hanger, seeing Doc and Zoey run up and slid in cover next to them. "Miss me," Zoey asked, panting breathlessly.

"Like my RPG," Alan replied with a wide grin.

"How many of them are left," Jamie questioned.

"Only four soldiers from what I saw," Doc replied.

The Z-Team smiled to one another then nodded. Jamie turned around, coiling back behind cover. Immediately, he sprung forward, aiming his SMG to the side. He saw one soldier who was attempting to rush the survivors with a shotgun. The brunette fired his weapon, tearing through that first soldier. Before the soldier could hit the ground, Zoey popped out of cover, zeroing in on a soldier across the hanger. She fired her sniper, and tore a bullet right through his head. As Jamie landed on his shoulder against the ground, Alan popped out of the other side of their cover and fired his assault rifle, tearing up from the knees to the neck on another soldier. Doc was the last to come out of cover, firing one bullet from his assault rifle clean through the last soldier's chest.

The survivors all rushed out of cover and headed for the large transport helicopter. The group turned onto the boarding ramp, and froze in shock. Across from them, Maria sat on the ground with an empty, lost look in her eyes.

"Maria…" Alan slowly walked up the boarding ramp, worry stricken over his face. Suddenly, something fell from the roof of the helicopter and slammed into Alan's face. The bulky survivor flew back and onto his teammates.

Diana slammed her feet on the boarding ramp, walking towards the survivors with the utmost murderous intent. Alan got up first, screaming in rage as he rushed Diana. The assassin spun around, kicking Alan across the face and throwing him off the side of the boarding ramp. Jamie went up next, screaming as he readied his knife. Diana blocked the downward strike, kicked the brunette's knee, causing him to waver. She then grabbed his arm and spun him around onto his back, then rolled him down the ramp. Doc went next, slamming his shoulder into Diana's gut. The assassin gracefully flipped over Doc, grabbed the back of his shirt and hurled him back down the ramp. Zoey ran up, throwing a lightning fast punch at the assassin. Diana jerked her head back and threw her knee up at Zoey. The brunette took the blow to the gut, but quickly wrapped her arms around Diana's leg. The assassin scowled in anger before Zoey screamed and threw Diana with all her might backwards.

Diana landed on her back, rolling onto her feet. She growled in anger as she ran back towards Zoey. However, Alan quickly moved in front of the assassin and threw his fist at her. Diana ducked under the strike then slammed her open palm into Alan's gut. The survivor cried out, doubling over in pain. Diana then slammed her elbow into the back of Alan's neck, causing him to hit the ground. Jamie and Doc then moved between Diana and the boarding ramp.

"Get Maria," Jamie ordered.

Without a second wasted, Zoey turned around and rushed into the helicopter and punched the button to close the ramp behind her.

Diana snarled in rage as she rushed forward, attempting to get into the helicopter. However, Jamie managed to trip her on the way. As she hit the ground, Doc lied on top of her, pressing his arm in between her shoulder blades while Jamie pressed his arm down on her legs.

* * *

Zoey ran forward, kneeling before Maria. She quickly brushed the girl's hair out of her face and cupped her cheeks in her hands. "Maria, Maria can you hear me?" Zoey's voice started shaking and her whole body was trembling in fear of what happened to her. "Maria, it's me! It's Zoey!" A light groan escaped Maria's lips. Her head started swaying back and forth before her ice blue eyes looked up at the brunette. "Maria…"

"Z…oey…?"

"That's right," Zoey murmured, so happy she almost started crying. The brunette beamed happily before embracing Maria, hugging the little girl with all her might.

"How touching…" Zoey's eyes snapped open in shock. She looked forward, seeing the Director walking out of the cockpit with a pistol in hand. The older man aimed the firearm at Zoey and Maria and glared down at them. "I almost hate to ruin your little reunion."

"Let her go," Zoey murmured. "Please. If any part of you is still human, you'll leave Maria alone!"

"What is human," the Director mused. "We've evolved so much, it can be hard to tell can't it?"

* * *

Diana screamed in fury as she rolled over, bringing Doc and Jamie with her. She quickly flipped over onto her feet, raising her foot to stomp on Doc's face. Before she could, Jamie sprung forward, propping himself up on his arms and legs as Diana's heels dug into his back. The brunette groaned as Doc quickly moved out from under him. Alan cried out in rage, throwing his fist across Diana's face. The assassin slammed hard on the back of her head, groaning in pain. Alan pulled out his machete then swung down at her. Diana quickly rolled to the side as the blade chipped into the concrete.

* * *

"What is it that humans desire most in this world," the Director continued. "Power, isn't it? The only thing that separates terrorists from governments, is that terrorists are honest about their wants. They want to control the world. Governments would do the same, but under the guise of establishing order, or peace."

"So you're a terrorist with a conscious," Zoey hissed, glaring coldly at the madman in front of her.

"I'm a 'terrorist' who is accomplishing what man desires the most: control. The infection will ravage the world one way or another. And out of the ashes of the apocalypse, I will emerge to reestablish order and peace."

* * *

Diana threw her leg up, kicking the machete out of Alan's hand. Doc wrapped his arms around Diana's arms and body, holding her firmly in place. Diana struggled in resistance, but was soon met with Alan's fist across her face. The assassin scowled, throwing both of her legs up around Alan's head. She quickly swayed her waist around, jerking Alan's head from one side to the next. Quickly realizing she could break Alan's neck, Doc let go of Diana. The assassin fell, catching herself with her hands before releasing Alan's head and kicking Doc in the face. The blonde cried out and stumbled backwards.

Diana spun around on her hands, stepping away as Alan charged her again. The assassin jabbed Alan in the face, causing him to pause before she socked him across the face. Alan stumbled to the side before Diana grabbed the back of his shirt. She then threw the survivor into a stack of sturdy crates.

Suddenly, a sharp pain ripped through Diana's shoulder, causing her to cry out in agony. She looked down, seeing a knife sticking out of her shoulder. Turning her head even more, she saw Jamie standing in a fighting stance. Diana tore the knife out of her shoulder, threw it to the ground and rushed the brash brunette.

* * *

"And why would anyone want to follow you," Zoey snapped. "The guy who ended the world? What makes you think whoever survives the apocalypse will just roll over and let you rule?"

"The simple fact they won't have any other choice. Jeff joined us willingly enough. Why? Because he knew we were his best chance to survive. Once people see that I'm organized, and I'm the best chance they'll have to survive, they'll have no choice but to follow me. The strongest of humanity will live. Those who die…well it would just prove that their lives are of no worth. As I explained before: the selling of the virus is simply the beginning of my plan. Dear little Maria there is going to forward this project."

"What's that mean," Zoey asked. "You couldn't just release the infection all over the world?"

"Oh I could. I tried with the states using normal zombies. But it was failing. I needed more, which is why I created the first batch of special infected: Hunters, Smokers, Boomers, Tanks, and Witches. But even they got me so far. I only had the east coast of the states dominated. Then I created Jockeys, Chargers, and Spitters, and the zombies pushed further into the country. Almost half of the United States of America is completely infected. Along the Mississippi River though, the military has been able to hold back the infection rather easily." Zoey gasped, looking up at the Director in shock. "That's right, over the river there is still hope. But, With my newest creations, the Lasher, the sentient infected that Williams turned into, the constantly changing monster I turned Elliot, and a zombie that has all the powers in one neat little package, what Jeff just became, I'll take over the rest of the States.

"Getting new infected by mutating _just_ the Green Flu takes weeks. Most of my most recent creations would've taken months. What I turned Jeff into was thanks to Maria. That would've easily taken me years. What I originally expected would've taken decades instead will take me less than one. And it's all thanks to what Richard did to Maria here. Now…" The Director stiffened his arm, aiming it at Zoey's head. "Hand her over…"

* * *

Jamie cried out as he stumbled back into a crate. Diana sprung into the air, spun around and kicked the brunette across the jaw, causing him to roll back over the crate. Jamie grunted as he hit the ground, but then quickly threw himself against the crate, pushing it towards Diana. The assassin sprung up, placing her hands on the crate and grabbing a chain on top, then flipping over Jamie's head. She landed, turned and lashed the chain at him. Jamie yelped in fear before quickly rolling to the side. The brunette scrambled to distance himself as Diana walked towards him, twirling the chain around with ease.

"Hey bitch!" Diana spun around without a second thought, lashing the chain at the sound of Nick's voice.

The conman quickly held out a crowbar, letting the chain wrap around it a few times. Nick chuckled with a sadistic grin then pulled back on the crowbar, jerking Diana forward. The assassin scowled, and then pulled back on her chain. Nick's feet skidded across the floor. The conman growled, stepping backwards to get better footing. Diana narrowed her eyes behind her sunglasses, standing in place along with Nick.

A deafening shot went off, bouncing off the walls of the hanger. Diana's eyes nearly popped out of her head as she screamed at the top of her lungs and fell to the ground, clutching her bleeding leg.

Nick's arms fell to his side, groaning as he rubbed one of them. From the balcony, Nicole stood up from behind the railing and rested the sniper rifle across her shoulder. Diana screamed, holding her leg as it gushed out blood.

"Nice shot," Nick called out, smiling up at Nicole.

"Thank you," the black haired doctor replied, walking down the stairs of the balcony onto the ground floor.

Jamie, Doc, and Alan all got up on their feet, rubbing their aching jaw, neck, or shoulders as they looked at the writhing assassin. "Why didn't we think of shooting her," Doc asked.

"I've tried," Alan snapped, aiming a finger at his blonde friend. "She's a freaking ninja though so it's kinda hard to do."

"Well, Nick and I used our heads," Nicole said, leaning forward with a mocking face. She put her hand on her hip and turned to Diana. Nobody dared to get close to her. She was still dangerous, despite having a bullet rip through her leg. "We decided since she just kicks our asses all the time, we'll have one person keep their ass far enough away to where she can't kick it." Nicole looked back up at the boys of the Z-Team with a questioning look. "Where's Zoey?" Jamie, Alan, and Doc's eyes all widened before they immediately bolted for the transport helicopter.

* * *

"I don't have all day," the Director stated. "As cliché as it might be, this base is about to explode. I'd rather not have a corpse in the cabin of my helicopter the entire ride." Zoey looked down at Maria, who still looked as though she had no conscious thought in her head. The brunette gripped Maria tightly, hugging her close to her chest.

"I'm not giving her to you…"

"Really…" The Director didn't move, but he kept enough distance to where Zoey couldn't attack him. "Her life is more important that yours?"

"It's not about whose life is more important or not…" Zoey snapped her eyes up at the Director, a fierce and hardened gaze. "To you, human lives may seem like trivial things. But Maria…she's family to me. I love her, and I'm not going to let you hurt her anymore than you already have! And I'm sure as hell not going to let you use her to destroy the world!"

"Your family eh? What would you say if I knew the fate of your mother, father, and Wade?" Zoey couldn't help but let a light gasp escape. She wanted to know if they were safe, but would the Director lie about it either way? If they were alive, would he say they were dead? If they were dead…would he say they were alive? "No? Then perhaps you'd like to know the status of Bill, Francis, and Louis?" This time, Zoey's hardened expression melted into one of shock. "Hand Maria over, I'll let you live, and tell you their fates. All of them."

She would know. She would know if her parents were safe. If they made it safely across the Mississippi. She would finally know what happened to Bill, Francis, and Louis. She would know where they were. He had to know the truth, and he would tell her. But at what cost? Zoey looked down at Maria, clutching her tightly. She rested her head on top of the little girl's black hair.

"I'm sorry," Zoey whispered. She slowly looked up at the Director. Her eyes narrowed, growing as cold as ice. "Fuck off!"

"So be it," the Director murmured. He pulled back the hammer on the gun. Zoey closed her eyes, accepting her fate.

Suddenly, the broken bundle in Zoey's arms spun around. The brunette's eyes shot open as a foot shot out and nailed the Director in his shin. The older man cried out in pain, hopping up on one foot as he fired a bullet that barely flew past Zoey's cheek. Zoey turned her head where she felt the bullet zoom by before turning her attention forward, just in time to see the Director get punched in the groin. The Director fell to his knees, gasping in pain. He snarled for as a fist struck him across the face, throwing him to the ground and causing the pistol to clatter on the ground. A tiny foot stepped on the gun then slid it back to Zoey. The brunette stopped the gun with her hand then looked up in shock.

"YEOW!" Maria turned around, shaking her hand furiously in pain. "How do you guys punch people all the time? It hurts!"

"MARIA!" The black haired girl beamed a smile in Zoey's direction then ran towards her. The two girls quickly shared a powerful embrace, gripping each other with all their might. "I was so worried about you…"

"I was worried you were going to turn me over," Maria whispered, a slight trace of sarcasm in her tone.

"Not a chance," Zoey replied, leaning out of the hug. The boarding ramp suddenly hissed, causing Zoey to spin around and aim her newly acquired pistol.

The rest of the Z-Team stared in shock at the sight of Zoey aiming her pistol at them. The brunette sighed and lowered her weapon as Maria poked her head out from behind Zoey.

"MARIA," everyone except Nick and Zoey shouted. Nicole slid forward on her knees, practically yanking Maria out from behind Zoey to hug her. Alan circled around, wrapping his muscular arms around them both and squeezing with all his might. Doc and Jamie joined in the group-hug, squeezing Maria in the center.

"Breathing—trouble," Maria wheezed. The Z-Team quickly released the little girl, letting Maria take in a huge breath to fill her lungs back up. "SHEESH! You think you guys could wait a minute or two!"

Jamie turned his head when he heard a pained groan. He gave a perplexed look at the Director lying on the ground, holding his crotch, "Zoey…what did you do to him?"

"I told him to fuck off," Zoey replied, a grin forming on her face. "Then Maria kicked his ass." All eyes, including Nick's, snapped to Maria. The little girl gave a cocky grin, putting her hands behind her back.

"Don't threaten my friends or you'll get kicked in the shins…as well as other places." Alan turned back to the Director, glaring angrily at him.

"Can I have a minute with him boss," Alan asked.

"Make it quick," Jamie replied. "Then you got something to tell Maria right?" Alan nodded to Jamie. He then turned to the black haired girl and smiled.

Alan got up to his feet, grabbed the Director and then dragged him outside. Maria gave a strange look as Alan walked out of the helicopter. She also saw Nick standing at the foot of the boarding ramp, smirking smugly at the Director.

"Okay, one why is Alan angry at the Director, two, where did we pick up Colonel Sanders?" Zoey and Nicole couldn't help but giggle at the fact Maria came up with the same nickname they had.

"Colonel Sanders is my uncle Nick," Jamie explained. Maria's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock. "And…Alan will explain later."

The bulky survivor dropped the Director then threw a strong kick to his stomach. Maria cringed at the sight from inside the helicopter before looking back at the others. "And that?"

"He'll explain later," Doc murmured. "In the mean time…I've got something to tell you."

"The vaccine you injected me with was actually a strain of the Green Flu which messed up my genetic makeup, so I'm like a quarter zombie on my mother's side now or something right?" The Z-Team all stared at the black haired girl with wide, shocked eyes. Maria rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. "The Director likes to talk a lot, and explain things."

"Well…yeah, that's basically it." Doc sighed heavily, lowering his head in shame. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you Maria…I just thought that-," Doc was cut off when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck. He looked up, seeing that Maria threw her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm not mad, and I don't blame you old man. You did what you had to do…and I'm glad you saved me." Maria tightened her hug, closing her eyes as she whispered, "Thank you Doc."

Doc stared in shock for a minute before wrapping one arm around Maria's back. He closed his eyes, giving a smile of relief. The rest of the team watched the heartwarming sight with smiles on their faces. A single tear ran down Doc's cheek before he unwrapped his arm.

"Thank you…for not hating me."

"You did what you had to in order to protect me," Maria said. "Even if you did tell me what it was back in the lab, I would've said to do it."

_Self destruction in: two, minutes._

The survivors lifted their heads up in shock before alarms started going off. Jamie looked back outside to Alan, who was also looking up at the ceiling. "Kick him again and then we're going!" Alan nodded then looked back down at the ground, realizing the Director was gone.

"Son of a-," The Director had already ran onboard the other helicopter. Alan ran to chase after him. He wasn't going to let that madman escape him now.

Before Alan could get to the helicopter, something tripped him. The former cage fighter hit the ground and was pushed down harder when Diana rolled on top of him. The second helicopter started up, the blades spinning around wildly. Diana gasped in shock as the entrance started closing. The Director stood at the top of the boarding ramp, looking down at Diana and Alan.

"FATHER! What're you doing?"

"You've outlived your usefulness dear daughter," the Director replied. "My ultimate virus is near completion." Diana's eyes were wide in shock and horror. She quickly scowled in anger then got off Alan and limped towards the Director. "I'm afraid I don't need you anymore." The Director pressed a button, closing the boarding ramp."

"BASTARD! After all I've done for you! After all you've put me through, this is how you're going to treat me?" The Director huffed, turning around and walking towards the cockpit as the ramp closed behind him. "You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me! You ungrateful bastard!" The ramp closed and the helicopter lifted off the ground.

Alan and Nick started firing at the helicopter while Jamie ran out to help them shoot. The metal was bullet proof, so their shots did nothing. They stopped, scowling angrily as the chopper moved closer towards the exit. Diana started limping faster, trying to catch up to the helicopter. She finally reached out and grabbed the bottom railing as the chopper took off.

"She's fucking crazy," Nick exclaimed.

"You can say that again," Alan murmured.

The helicopter lifted off the ground, but didn't move forward. Instead, it swayed from side to side, trying to shake Diana off. The assassin held on tightly, screaming in fury. She reached up, placing her hand against the bottom of the helicopter before her grip slipped a bit. The chopper snapped to the side, finally throwing Diana off. The assassin flew across the hanger, hitting on the top of one of the vans hard. She rolled over the vehicle and hit the ground.

The Director's helicopter flew out of the hanger. The whole base started shaking as explosions started happening all around.

"Let's go," Alan shouted. He and Nick immediately ran towards the transport chopper, which Doc and Nicole had already started up.

Jamie took one step towards the transport chopper, but stopped to look back in the direction Diana flew off towards. He didn't know what to feel about leaving her behind. He felt a bit of guilt for leaving her after her own father betrayed her. A quick image of Diana kicking his ass quickly reminded him why he was _going_ to leave her behind. The brunette quickly sprinted towards the boarding ramp and onto the helicopter. The survivors lifted off and closed the boarding ramp, flying out of the exit without a second to spare. Once they were at a safe distance, the Z-Team looked out of a small window to watch the base go up in a fiery explosion.

"Damn," Jamie murmured.

"Follow that chopper," Maria ordered, pointing to the Director's helicopter.

"We can't," Doc replied. "There are some others we need to find in the city. Nick came with accessories."

"The fuck does that mean," the conman snapped defensively.

"Hey!" Jamie punched his uncle's arm, causing the older man to cringe in pain. "There's a twelve year old on board! You watch your mouth around her, got it?"

"Yeah, fine, whatever."

"Plus the helicopter is faster than ours," Doc said to Maria. "We'll lose him trying to track him down."

"Maybe not…" All eyes turned to Nicole. The doctor pointed to a radar, which had a blinking dot on it.

"Is that the Director's chopper," Alan questioned. "Does it have some type of tracer installed on it?"

"If it did it's only a matter of time before he disables it," Doc stated.

"Diana," Jamie whispered. The survivors turned their heads to the brunette. "She must've placed a tracer on the helicopter when she was holding onto it."

"Why would she do that," Zoey asked.

"She's crazy and vindictive. If we know where the Director is, we can find him, kick his ass, and basically ruin his plans, and thus avenging Diana." A pause and silence filled the chopper.

"I suddenly don't like this plan," Alan piped up.

"Oh shut up. We're stopping the Director. But first, let's pick up the others."

* * *

Needless to say, Coach, Ellis, and Rochelle were more than surprised to see a helicopter landing nearby. They were even more surprised when Nick, Jamie, and the others came walking out. The only two that stayed in the helicopter were Maria and Alan. The latter had just finished explaining that Maria's friend Joy was his sister.

The black haired girl sat in silence, looking down at the floor. She wasn't sure how to process this new information.

Alan gave an uncomfortable look, wondering what Maria could be thinking at this point. Maria finally lifted her head up. Alan waited for her to say something first. After another pause, Maria opened her mouth, "How come…you were never around? I never saw you…ever."

"I was busy fighting in those cage fights," Alan murmured softly. "Dad was a good-for-nothing dirt bag who just sat at home and got fat. I had to take care of Joy. So I did what I had to do. What I was good at. I made enough money to support her, to give her what my so called 'dad' couldn't. I also tried to spend as much time with her as possible, but that wasn't a whole lot." Alan closed his eyes, fighting back the building guilt and anguish in his chest. "I…I tried to save her. I got her to the evac center, I got her on the chopper. But…she told me to try and save her best friend…"

"Me," Maria whispered. Alan nodded, cracking his eyes open ever so slightly.

"As the chopper took off…it crashed." Tears started to leak out of Alan's eyes, causing him to close them tightly. A small sob escaped from his mouth, causing Maria to look up at him in shock. She could hardly believe that she was seeing Alan cry. It was…different to say the least for her to see this invincible, unstoppable man sob. He had a right to cry, hell, he should be crying more. "I…there was no way anyone could have survived." Alan clenched his teeth to try and keep himself from crying anymore. "I…I ran. I ran like a coward! I left…I sent my sister on that chopper, and got her killed. I hate myself for it. I honestly can't see why I was chosen to live while my sister died in that helicopter crash!"

"Alan," Maria spoke. Alan opened his mouth to continue, but Maria quickly reached out and placed her hand on his knee to silence him. "Joy loved you. She always told me about her big brother, and all he did for her. You were her hero. She looked up to you, admired you. She wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over this." Maria smiled warmly, scooting closer to Alan. She tapped him on the shoulder to make him look up to her. Slowly and reluctantly, Alan moved his head up, looking at Maria's smiling face. "When she and I played together, we didn't play with dolls, or have tea parties. We ran around the apartments, chasing each other and playing things like war. Whenever I would fall down, she would tell me to dust myself off and get up. She was four years younger than me Alan. She was strong because she took after you. She wanted to be just as tough and strong as her big brother. And you know what? I bet Joy would tell you the same thing. But since she's not I'll say it for her." Maria stood up, pulling up gently on Alan's shirt.

"Get up," Maria began, "dust yourself off, and be the hero that Joy always talked about." Alan continued to sit on the ground for a moment. Maria continued to smile, waiting for the survivor. Finally Alan began to stand. Maria's smile turned into a grin as she looked up at the bulky big brother while smiled back down at her.

"You're quite the inspirational one aren't ya," Alan asked softly.

"Joy was the brawn, I was the charismatic one. Together we took over all the playgrounds in a ten street block radius." Alan laughed softly, wiping away the last of his tears that trailed down his face. Maria smiled up at Alan, putting her hands behind her back. "You feeling better?"

"Yes," Alan replied with a firm nod. The survivor then wrapped his arms around Maria and hugged her tightly. "Thank you Maria…thank you so much."

Maria smiled softly and wrapped her tiny arms around Alan, "It's the least I could do. I mean you came back to save me. What time would this one be? Sixth time?"

"Something like that," Alan said while laughing. The two released each other and smiled before joining the other survivors.

"So…you didn't stop the Director," Coach murmured.

"Not for lack of trying," Jamie replied bitterly. "But apparently Diana set a tracing device on the Director's helicopter before the base blew up-,"

"With her inside it," Nick added with a certain glee in his tone.

"So we can use that helicopter," Jamie motioned his head back over his shoulder, "to track him down and stop him."

"This was CEDA's main base of operations," Doc stated. "There aren't many places the Director _could_ go that would be well fortified like this last place."

"Besides, if there are anymore skyscrapers Alan can just knock em over right," Nicole asked with a wide grin on her face. Doc rolled his eyes, hoping that his ex wouldn't try to encourage Alan.

"So that's what that was," Ellis exclaimed. "MAN! I was wondering what shook the ground that badly! We heard it from here! It was like that time me and my buddy Keith tried to make a homemade bomb out of lighter fluid, gunpowder, and diesel fuel, we-,"

"Not now Ellis," Nick snapped.

"Alright, but a finger ended up in the next state. Seriously."

"Regardless, we're ditching the vans for a nice, big old helicopter," Doc stated, almost dreading what damage his companions could do in such a vehicle. At least Alan wouldn't be driving it. "It has the technology we need to track down the Director."

"Coach," Jamie muttered. The heavyset man looked over at the young brunette. "We're going to have to stop him. By _any_ means necessary."

"I understand," Coach replied with a reluctant tone.

"You don't have to do it, but I'm just telling you what _we're_ planning to do," Jamie said. "The Director said to Zoey that across the border of the Mississippi River, there's no infection. That the military has managed to hold the line against the infected. If you want, you can take one of the vans and head straight for it." Jamie turned around, looking at the rest of the survivors. "That invitation is open to anyone who accepts it."

"You're kidding me right," Alan shouted. "After EVERYTHING we've been through, you're going to try to get rid of me? The nerve!" Jamie rolled his eyes, laughing lightly.

"Same goes for me," Doc said with a confident smile. "I fear for all of common sense if I left you and Alan alone to ravage the infected countryside."

"Count me in," Maria exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air before bouncing up a bit. The three survivors turned around, giving Maria a narrowing gaze. "Oh screw you all! Just because the Director wants my genetics doesn't mean I'm going to run away! Besides, I've proven I can handle myself against him already! You guys took care of me when I wasn't immune, and now I'm going to stick to you three like glue!"

"I'm in," Zoey said, putting her arm around Maria, pulling the younger girl close. "Lord knows you guys would be a lost cause without me. Besides, I'm not leaving Maria alone with you three block heads."

"Hey," Alan snapped defensively.

"You cannot throw me in the same bunch as these two," Doc quickly replied, pointing to Jamie then Alan.

"I'm coming too," Nicole chimed in. "Someone needs to keep Richard under control. Besides: we girls," the black haired doctor threw her arms around Zoey and Maria who hugged her in return, "need to stick together."

"Yeah, otherwise we couldn't repopulate," Doc replied jokingly. Jamie and Alan opened their mouths, but Doc quickly raised his hands in front of both of their faces. "Do _not_ make a 'Doc-is-a-dirty-old-man' joke or I will hurt you both." The two survivors closed their mouths, but grinned like idiots.

"I'm coming too," Nick stated firmly. "I just found my nephew and discovered he does stupid shit, and hangs around idiots who take down entire skyscrapers. I can't go to Kathy telling her that and expect to live."

"Shit, someone needs to keep an eye on Nick," Coach added. "I'm coming with ya'll."

"Me too," Ellis said, eagerly raising his hand.

"You can count me in," Rochelle finished with a wide smile.

"Z-Team," Alan shouted as he jutted his arm straight out, "ASSEMBLE!" Zoey, Maria, Nicole, Coach, Ellis, and Rochelle all laughed while Jamie, Doc, and Nick all groaned and rolled their eyes.

Despite Alan's idiocy, Doc put his hand on top of Alan's. Jamie let out a heavy sigh, putting his on Doc's. Maria quickly sprung forward, slapping both hands on top of Jamie's with a huge grin on her face. She had no idea what was going on, but she was more than eager to join in the antics. Nicole smiled, putting one hand on top of Maria's. Zoey then did the same, looking over at the southern survivors. Coach chuckled, remembering the old days on his football team. His massive paw slammed down on top of Zoey's, gripping firmly. Ellis quickly put his hand in next, smiling goofily as he looked around at the others. Nick groaned, reluctantly placing his hand on Ellis'. Rochelle was the last to join the circle, placing her hand in to top it all off.

"Christ, let's never do this again," Nick said as he looked at the massive pile of hands.

"Where's your team spirit Nick," Coach teased, elbowing the conman gently.

"Yeah, after all there's no 'I' in team," Ellis added with his goofy grin.

"There's no 'u' in team either," Nick snapped.

"Nick," Jamie said, narrowing his eyes at his uncle.

"Fine, fine. I'll be a 'team player' if it'll get you guys off my back."

"Can we get in the chopper already," Maria shouted. "I need to kick the Director's other shin!"

"What's she mean by that," Rochelle asked.

"It's a long, wonderful story," Nicole replied, putting her arm around her friend's shoulders as the Z-Team made their way to the helicopter.

Once the team was on board, the boarding ramp started to close and the engine started. The chopper blades whirled and the vehicle was lifted off the ground and quickly took to the skies as the sun broke through all the dust and smoke that came from the destruction of the CEDA headquarters.

* * *

**Well…that was a LOT of updating on my end. I almost didn't get time to savor writing the past three chapters lol. Ah well. You, the fans, make the progression of the story all well worth it. Including the extraordinarily fast updating speed I get once I hit a good stride. Next chapter…will be less than fast probably lol. Those damn filler chapters! I'll see what I can do, but don't hold your breath for the next week or two lol. Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed this chapter.  
I'm going to try and extend things so that this story is longer than Back 4 More, but in case you couldn't tell: the ending is coming up on us before you know it my friends. But there are many more hidden surprises in store for this storyline! Just wait and see =D**

**Have a wonderful day everyone!**


	18. Our Luck

_"Alright, we're gonna head out,"_ Doc's voice called out over the helicopter's megaphone. Jamie, Alan, Zoey, Nick, Ellis, and Maria all stood on the roof of a towering hotel complex while their ride hovered above them. _"If there are any other survivors we'll radio you guys, got it?"_

Jamie raised his thumb in acknowledgment. The helicopter soon pulled away from the building, heading further into the city. Nick, putting his hand on his hip, turned towards Jamie, his nephew.

"Explain to me why the buttercup scout is with us," Nick asked, pointing to Maria.

"To whup some butt," Maria replied back snappishly. The little girl walked towards the door and shoved it open violently. Jamie and Nick looked to each other, the former smirking a bit as he raised his pistol.

"You heard the buttercup scout. Let's kick some butt." The survivors moved towards the door, following after Maria, who was already down the stairs.

Zoey took a small breath through her nose, growing slightly uneasy. This was almost exactly like the time when she and the others began their journey to Mercy Hospital. Things were a lot simpler back then.

The group moved through the first, darkened room cautiously. It was the first time Zoey could remember that they were actually being smart instead of just running in, guns blazing and mouths running. She couldn't blame them: this was the city where they followed the Director's signal. The thing was that there were no signs of any stable buildings. The entire city looked like something straight out of the apocalypse: buildings were slowly turning into ruins, as if left unattended for years, and everything seemed to be rotting or falling apart.

The team wasn't sure what to expect in this city.

The building was empty. From the roof down to the bottom floor, it was completely vacant of survivors or zombies. The team walked out into the streets, Alan turning around to look back up at the skyscraper, "Well what the fuck!" On the side of the building there was a giant tarp that read 'survivors inside.' Alan rested his shotgun on his shoulders, turning to Jamie who simply looked around the city, "That's false advertisement isn't it? 'Oh survivors in here, come help us.' We went down every last floor in that building and there was NO one!"

"I noticed Alan," Jamie replied absentmindedly. He looked around the city, as if expecting an ambush. After noting the caution in his eyes, Zoey started to scan the streets as well.

"Where the hell are all the zombies," Nick shouted. The conman's voice echoed loudly throughout the streets, bouncing off the buildings and through what seemed to be the entire city.

"Man, this is creepier than the time me and my buddy Keith went out in the woods on Halloween to find ghosts," Ellis murmured, clutching his gun tightly. "We didn't find any ghosts, but Keith did find a pack of werewolves that took his candy. I think it was just a bunch of high school seniors who dressed up as werewolves who took our candy, but Keith to this day swears that they were REAL werewolves. Not those type of werewolves in Twilight, cause they were just shape shifters and-," Five heads whirled around in unison, giving Ellis a confused, perplexed look. "Uh…I—I read it somewhere on the internet."

"You know what the internet is," Nick asked mockingly with a cocky smirk.

Zoey rolled her eyes before looking down the street, "I think we should go and try to rejoin with Doc and the others. They went down this way right?" The brunette turned her head to the others who looked to one another.

"She's right," Jamie agreed. "There weren't any survivors, so let's go rejoin with the others and kick the Director's ass!"

"AGAIN," Maria shouted as she raised her arm, looking between the survivors. Everyone except Nick smiled before they walked down the street.

Moving down nearly ten city blocks, and the survivors had yet to encounter a zombie, a survivor, not even a tumbleweed. It got to the point where Alan was walking around without a weapon in hand.

"Sheesh, this can't even qualify as a ghost town can it," Alan asked aloud. "I mean there aren't even ghosts _in_ the city."

Ellis snorted, followed by his hillbilly laughter, "Good one Alan."

"He thinks I'm funny," Alan said, directing his comment towards Jamie and Zoey.

"Statistically, I suppose _someone_ had to," Zoey replied, giving Alan a taunting smirk. The bulky survivor rolled his eyes and laughed softly in response.

Nick and Jamie both had their eyes narrowed skeptically, both wondering where anything was. The two leaders of the group eventually stopped, causing the rest to freeze in place as well.

"I don't like this," Jamie murmured.

"Me neither," Nick agreed. "I mean…there aren't even any corpses in the area. It's like nobody lived here at any point in time."

"The fact the Director decided to stop in this city means he has _something_ to do with it," Alan seethed. "I say we find him, beat the living crap out of him, and make him tell us!"

"How was that different from the original plan," the conman of the group asked.

The sound of crunching glass caused all of the survivors to whirl around and aim their weapons. Two small figures cringed behind cover with a light yelp of fear. The survivors slowly lowered their weapons, exchanging confused glanced between one another. Two small heads poked out in the open before stepping out onto the street.

It took a moment for Alan and Jamie to recognize the two younger survivors, but once they did, their faces fell immediately. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me…"

"Is that Andrew," Ellis asked, turning to Nick. Zoey and Maria snapped their heads to the mechanic and his conman partner before looking back to Jamie and Alan. One glance told the two females of the group that Jamie and his partner in crime were just as confused as they were.

"You've gotta help us," the young boy, Andrew, spoke.

"Where's Amy," Alan asked. "Where's Nelson? And why the hell are you two on your own?"

"That's why I said we need your help genius!" Andrew turned around as Alan scowled at him.

"Still a big pain in the ass," Alan muttered angrily.

"Are you kidding? I love this kid!" Everyone, excluding Ellis, stared at Nick with confused, baffled expressions. The two southern survivors followed after Andrew and the other little girl, Kelsey. The confused survivors gave each other one last confused look before following Nick and Ellis.

The two youngest of the survivors, Andrew and Kelsey, moved through the alleys, slipping through cracks and holes in the sides of buildings instead of moving through the streets and out in the open. For everyone except Maria, slipping through a few of the crawl spaces and holes could be difficult at times.

After a few minutes of silence, Zoey turned to Ellis, "So how do you guys know Andrew?" The mechanic whirled his head around, face flushed with embarrassment as he looked at Zoey.

"Uh…we…uh kinda met them and uh…"

"The military was going to take us to their base to try and kill us," Andrew snapped bitterly. Zoey, Jamie, Alan, and Maria all turned their heads to the young boy. "The vehicle they were carrying us in crashed into a bus that Nick and the others were on. We managed to slip away from the military after a horde came and attacked us. We told them about you guys, and Nick jumped at the chance to try and find his nephew again." Jamie looked over at his uncle, who turned to him as well. The two gave each other the same look before turning back to Andrew. "We parted ways after that and headed to Tennessee where there was supposed to be an evac point. We came through this city…we were ambushed by armed men. Not military, but something…else. They took my sister and Nelson…Kelsey and I managed to slip away…"

"We found out where they're holding Amy and Nelson," Kelsey added, looking back over her shoulder. "We can take you guys there, but it's gonna be dangerous. A big helicopter just landed on the rooftop not too long ago, probably bringing in more of those soldiers."

Alan and Jamie exchanged glances, knowing for a fact that the helicopter Kelsey spoke of carried the Director. They were definitely in the right area city. Jamie turned his head, wondering in the back of his mind what Alan was thinking. He knew that his best friend and Amy had a thing for each other to say the least. Now that she was kidnapped by the Director, who Alan already had an unhealthy hatred for, Jamie hoped that Alan wouldn't do anything stupid. Stupider than usual for Alan that is.

Andrew and Kelsey stopped at a broken window and slowly peaked through it. Andrew stepped to the side and motioned for the other survivors to move closer. Jamie, Nick, Zoey, and Maria all moved forward first, looking through the window. In front of them was a giant clearing, filled with rubble, wreckage, broken glass, and all manner of vehicles. Past all junk was a towering skyscraper which, considering the state of the rest of the city, was in fair condition. Without a doubt in their mind, the survivors concluded that was for certain where the Director would be.

"We need to regroup with the others," Jamie said, turning to Nick. The others leaned away from the window, looking between one another. "Can you get Doc or Coach on the radio?" Nick pulled out a hand radio from his inner pocket and turned the device on.

Before the conman could speak, Doc tossed his hand radio across the room. As soon as it hit the ground, everyone looked up to see the rest of their group behind them. Jamie smiled before putting a hand on his hip, "How'd you guys find us?"

"It's not that hard to smell Alan out," Doc teased, looking at his beefy companion. The former cage fighter rolled his eyes at the joke before looking back out of the window. "We saw the building. Judging from the fact that it's the nicest thing in this god-forsaken place, I'd venture that's where the Director is hiding out."

"We thought the same thing," Jamie said.

"The what now," Andrew asked.

"Conspiracy theories kid," Nick answered, sighing heavily. "Lots and lots of stupid conspiracy theories…"

"I don't think we can just come through the front door," Alan muttered. "If what Andrew said is true, and the Director still has soldiers out here then they might have snipers."

"Having soldiers would make sense, seeing as how there aren't any zombies," Doc added. The blonde looked back at Nicole who nodded in agreement. "In the last city there was a smaller number of zombies for how large the city was. My guess is that the Director's men probably rounded up the zombies or killed them all."

"But how come we haven't seen any soldiers either," Maria asked, jumping into the conversation. The little girl turned around, looking at the older blonde with her arms crossed.

The survivors looked up at one another. Now that it had been brought up, the thought crossed their mind as well. All eyes moved to Andrew and Kelsey. The two young survivors looked back at their seniors.

"We noticed the past few days actually that there haven't been any patrols recently," Kelsey said. She pointed to Doc, "He was right though: the soldiers kept the zombie population down drastically. Even when we first got here there weren't a lot of zombies to speak of."

"But we do see this one person running around the city," Andrew added quickly. "We've never gotten close to him, but there's another survivor in the city! We've tried to find him to get him to help us, but every time he sees us he just runs away and we lose him! He's like a freaking scared deer."

"We can handle it," Jamie said, turning to Coach. The heavyset man sighed before leaning forward to look out of the window across the room. "We need to see if there's definitely a sniper though. We need someone who's fast…" The original members of the Z-Team turned their heads to Zoey. The brunette looked at every last one of them before making the connection.

"Oh fuck…"

"I can do it," Ellis offered. The Z-Team turned their heads back around to the mechanic. "I use to chase hogs all the time. You gotta be fast to chase hogs." Zoey smirked a bit, a small feeling of gratitude that Ellis would offer to take her place.

"I got no problem with it," Nick exclaimed. "Either we prove there's no snipers or Ellis gets shot. Win-win right?" Rochelle reached up and smacked Nick in the back of the head, causing him to flinch in pain.

Jamie shrugged before motioning for Ellis to follow him. The two followed Kelsey into the other room. There was an open doorway, which Jamie walked towards first. He leaned out a bit, poking his head out in the open. He carefully scanned the windows, looking for any obvious sign of snipers. Jamie turned as someone tapped his shoulder, seeing Nicole standing behind him. She pointed to her sniper rifle with a look of 'duh' on her face. Jamie smacked his forehead before moving back, allowing Nicole to take his place.

She looked through the scope of her rifle and slowly swept the gun across the windows. A faint gasp escaped her lips before she saw something horrifying. On the bottom floor, she saw conflict, some type of struggle going on inside of the building. A mysterious figure, dressed in ragged, torn up clothes moved through groups of soldiers, killing them rather efficiently.

"We need to go NOW!" Nicole quickly lowered her rifle and sprinted out into the open. Jamie, Ellis, and Kelsey all gasped in confusion before following after the black haired doctor.

The other survivors saw from outside of the window, Jamie, Ellis, Nicole, and Kelsey all running towards the skyscraper. Zoey instantly hopped through the window and gave chase, followed closely behind by Alan and then the rest of the survivors.

As they approached the building, Jamie noticed a figure bashing their way through several armed guards with quick, rapid succession. Getting closer to the building, and a better view of the target, Jamie stopped in his tracks and started firing at the floor the mysterious person and the guards were on.

The windows shattered, tiny shards of glass raining down on the ground. This caused the fighter and one armed soldier to stop briefly, covering their heads in shock. The mysterious figure swung their arm across the soldier's neck, causing blood to jet out like a fountain.

Nicole got behind an overturned car and aimed her rifle at the figure, Ellis next to her. Jamie stood in the open, aiming his SMG at the only living person, Zoey and Alan standing on either side of him. The other survivors spread out and got behind cover, all aiming their weapons on a singular target.

"There's only one crazy woman I know who could kill that smooth," Alan exclaimed, a fierce grin on his face. "Come on and step out ninja girl!"

"Preferably with your hands up and the knife on the ground," Doc quickly added.

There was a pause, causing the survivors to grow tense. Everyone was spread out, and had their guns aimed at the figure, who was a woman. Even if she could close the distance quickly enough, there was no way she could take out all of them at once.

Surprisingly enough, the figure dropped a combat knife, causing the blade to clatter to the ground. Raising her arms up, she walked slowly towards the doors. Once stepping into the light, the survivors all gasped and lowered their weapons.

"That's not Diana," Jamie stated with a slack-jawed expression.

"No she's not," Alan agreed, also gapping in awe.

The young woman wore a black hoodie, which was torn a bit around the abdomen, black, fingerless leather gloves, dark red pants, and sneakers. She had shoulder length, crimson red hair, which was a bit greasy. The darkness of her hair was in sharp contrast to her soft, pale skin tone, and the light, icy blue eyes that seemed to bore through the survivors.

Zoey stared at the young woman for a moment before looking over to Jamie and Alan. An annoyed huff flew past her lips when she noted the awe-struck expression on their faces. Elbowing Jamie out of his trance, she motioned her head over to the girl.

"Uh…who the hell are you?"

"I should be asking that question," the woman snapped back angrily, "And why the hell you shot at me!"

"We thought you were someone else," Nicole called out, being the only survivor who _didn't_remove the strange woman from her sights.

"Obviously not a friend," the woman murmured. "Are any of you working for CEDA?"

"No," everyone replied simultaneously.

"Good. Saves me some trouble." Jamie stepped forward, lowering his weapon to his side.

"I take it you're not on friendly terms with CEDA?" The woman huffed, narrowing her eyes at the brunette. "Alright, understatement much. Look, I'm sorry I shot at you, but we're not on the best of terms with CEDA either. Some of our friends have been taken by them and are inside this building."

"I don't give a crap about your friends." The sharp statement caused Andrew to rise out of cover and glare at the woman. Her icy blue eyes moved up as she turned around, staring up to the top of the CEDA skyscraper. "A helicopter came by and landed on this building's roof. Which means the Director is back."

"Wait, how do you know about the Director," Alan asked. "I mean does he just frequently chat with survivors or something?"

"I'm not a survivor. I'm a pissed off bitch who's going to kill the Director."

"Then we've got an enemy in common," Jamie stated. The crimson haired woman turned around, her sharp blue eyes glaring at Jamie. "We'll help you get to the Director if you help us get to our friends. Deal?"

"Wait a second," Zoey snapped quickly. "Am I the _only_one who noticed her eyes are EXACTLY like Diana's? How can we be sure that she's not just her replacement or something?"

The woman's eyes moved over to Zoey, whose green eyes met hers in a fierce stare. "I _use_to work for CEDA before the infection. I had nothing to do with the Green Flu, or any of the mutations caused by it. My only connection to the Director, besides him being a former employer, is that he crossed me, and injected me with a performance booster that he's going to wish he never made."

A loud crashing noise caused the survivors to whirl around. Several doors were broken down by dozens of infected. The survivors all aimed their weapons at the building while the crimson haired woman ducked and rushed behind the lines of fire. As soon as the first zombie rushed towards the survivors, they opened fire into the horde.

Several zombies went down in a hail of bullets, but something caught the survivors by surprise. An explosion went off in the middle of the horde, much to everyone's confusion. Alan fired a few pistol rounds into one zombie, causing it to hit the floor. Behind that zombie was another infected with a strange looking vest strapped to its chest. Jamie fired a short burst into the zombie. The bullets ripped through the vest, causing the entire zombie to be engulfed in an explosion.

"SUICIDE BOMBER ZOMBIES?" Jamie cringed at the shrillness of Alan's voice, but he shared his friend's shock.

The survivors started backing away, once they realized the suicide bombing zombies were amongst the horde. More zombies collapsed and others were engulfed in explosions upon the survivors' continued gunfire. The bomber zombies actually made clearing out the horde a bit easier, as the explosions would take out a handful of other zombies in one go. After a couple of minutes, all the zombies were either dead on the ground, or in tiny bits blown apart throughout the entire courtyard.

Jamie turned around, gasping softly when he realized that the crimson haired woman was gone. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me…"

The rest of the survivors turned around, also noticing what Jamie had only a moment ago. Zoey quickly snapped her head to the side, scanning the area for wherever the woman could have disappeared to.

"She was heading for the Director," Doc stated. The other survivors turned around, looking at the blonde as he continued. "It only makes sense that she's heading for the inside of the CEDA building. Besides, we had the same goal in mind."

Jamie nodded once then led the way to the CEDA building.

* * *

The Director sighed as he looked at his monitor. That experiment turned out to be a failure. Maybe if the bomber infected were in a smaller number it would have been more effective?

The man rose from his chair, closing his laptop and turning off the monitor in his desk. He grabbed a suitcase with a variety of different viruses and headed to his front door. The Director walked up to an elevator which had a guard on either side of it. He stopped, reached into his suit and pulled out a pistol. He fired one round through the guard on the right's head, before turning and putting a hole between the other guard's eyes. The Director put his firearm away and stepped inside the elevator. As the doors slid to a close, he looked at the pool of blood spilling out from under the guards' corpses.

He was too close to his goals to leave _any_loose ends.

Something that surprised him though was the crimson haired woman that met the survivors. There was a huge loose end the Director was sure would've been taken care of. As always: he'd have to deal with it himself.

The Director rolled up his sleeve and looked at his watch. He lowered his arm, "Plenty of time…" The elevator's light went to the ground level and flickered off. Despite the fact the light went out, didn't mean the elevator stopped going down.

Several floors underground, the elevator doors opened, revealing a large, boxed in hanger. There were nearly a dozen vehicles. Armored transports, military issue jeeps, and many more on-road vehicles were being loaded up and tended to by the Director's soldiers.

The man in charge walked up to one shining black vehicle, opening the back seat and gently placing the suitcase in the floorboard. He'd deal with the survivors, and Shana all together at once.

The survivors reached a four direction hallway. They looked around, knowing they had more than enough people to cover each direction. Jamie looked down the three halls curiously, wondering which one would be the right way to go.

* * *

"This is stupid," Andrew shouted. "We're wasting time! I need to find Amy!"

"Pump your breaks kid," Coach said, putting his hand in front of the boy. "We need to split up Jamie."

"No you don't." The survivors all turned around, looking down the hall they came from. The crimson haired woman, looking angrier than before, walked out of a room and into the hall. "Everything in the building itself concerning anything involving CEDA's actions have been picked clean."

Doc turned completely to the woman and put a hand on his hip, "Alright, you know way more than any average survivor should know about CEDA. Care to explain?"

"WHO CARES?" Jamie, Alan, and Doc all rolled their eyes at Andrew's outburst. "We need to find my sister! Who knows what the hell these crazy people might be doing to her?"

"I wouldn't hold your breath for your sister," the woman replied in a whisper. Andrew glared at the crimson haired woman. "CEDA likes its underground levels. Follow me and I'll help you find them." The woman turned her back to the survivors and stopped. Looking back over her shoulder, her eyes seemed to glow in the dimly lit hallway. "You can call me Fenra." The survivors looked to each other in confusion before following Fenra down the halls.

The group was entirely silent, all eyes cautiously watching the crimson haired woman. The Z-Team leaned towards each other, "What do we do about the crazy chick," Doc asked.

"She obviously knows something," Zoey said. "I don't trust her as far as I could throw her. Maybe she knows more about the Director than the rest of us do?"

"I'm not sure if she knows more about the Director himself," Doc replied. "Maybe about CEDA, but the Director himself seems like the kind of guy to be a mystery, even to his own daughter, Diana."

"I don't think we have any reason not to trust her to be honest," Jamie added, looking over to Fenra. The brunette looked back to Zoey, Doc, Maria, and Nicole, all of whom were giving Jamie skeptical stares. "What? She hasn't tried to kill us yet has she?"

"Cause we outnumber her," Zoey snapped softly. "Sheesh, any girl pretty enough and you'll trust her immediately won't you Jamie?"

"What's that got to do with anything," Jamie replied defensively. "Just because I think she's _okay_looking doesn't mean squat! Besides; our numbers never stopped Diana from trying to kill us!"

"Diana never really fought _all_of us together like this," Nicole stated, a taunting smirk aimed at Jamie. The brunette glared at the black haired doctor before looking over at Zoey. His fellow brunette was glaring right back at Jamie, causing the brash leader to look confused.

"What?"

"Nothing," Zoey snapped. She looked over to Doc and Nicole. "We need to find out more about her. Who wants to volunteer?"

"I will," Jamie offered. Zoey turned to him, glaring angrily at the brash young man again.

"Uh…guys…" All eyes turned to Maria, who was staring forward with a look of dread. The Z-Team looked forward, the same look of dread on Maria's face now copied onto theirs.

"Oh no," Zoey, Jamie, and Doc all murmured simultaneously while Nicole and Maria face-palmed.

Alan was already walking next to Fenra, trying to strike up conversation with her. Jamie snapped his head to Nick and smacked his uncle on the arm, "Why didn't you stop him?"

"I'm not his babysitter," Nick hissed back below his breath.

Fenra noticed Alan by her side, but chose to ignore him. The bulky survivor leaned forward, trying to capture her attention. Alan tilted his head before standing up straight. "So…Fenra is a bit of a weird name isn't it?"

"It's not my birth name," the woman replied softly.

"What is your birth name, if you don't mind my asking?" Fenra remained silent, her eyes focused on the hall ahead. "Okay…all personal questions out I take it?" The crimson haired woman nodded, a quick, overly dramatic roll of her eyes added in for good measure. "So can I ask what your connection to the Director and CEDA is?"

"We just said personal questions are out."

Alan scowled, putting his hands on his hips, "So then what the hell can I ask you?"

"How about we play the quiet game? That's a sure fire way to get on my good side and _stay_there!" Alan scowled bitterly and turned his head to the side. The woman he was dealing with was less than reasonable.

"Look…" Fenra's eyes hardened a bit more. Alan paused, then sighed, and continued, "I'm not being confrontational about this. I just think if we're going to trust you we need to know more about you."

"You don't need to trust me at all. All you need to know," Fenra snapped her head to Alan, glaring intensely at him. "Is to stay out of my way once we find the Director." Alan groaned as Fenra picked up the pace, putting distance between her and him.

"Sheesh," Alan whined as Jamie and Maria stepped alongside next to him. "You try to make idle conversation and get your head ripped off. What a world." Jamie rolled his eyes while Maria giggled at the poor joke. Alan nudged Jamie then nodded towards Fenra, "What're we gonna do about her anyway?"

"I guess just stick to her until she leads us to the Director. There's not much we can do until then right?"

"Zoey's not gonna like this plan," Maria chimed in a sing-song voice.

"I'm not entirely sure if I trust this dame much either Jamie."

"Are you both forgetting that Zoey was the exact same way when we first found her," Jamie pondered sarcastically. He looked to both Alan and then Maria, "Just give this girl some time. I'm sure she'll open up in time…right?" Maria and Alan exchanged not so assured glances to one another.

Zoey rubbed the back of her neck. She didn't have a good feeling about Fenra. Jealousy had next to nothing to do with it. The woman reminded her too much of Diana. Speed, strength, personality, they even have the same ice blue eyes for crying out loud. And the fact that the redhead didn't want to share her past made her all the more suspicious. She wished Jamie would at least act a little more cautious with Fenra.

"Uh…h-hey there." Zoey was pulled out of her thoughts by a southern drawl. She looked to the left, seeing Ellis with his hat off walking next to her. "I'm Ellis."

Zoey couldn't help but crack a smile, "I know that."

"I-I know it's just we uh…haven't had a chance to really talk ta each other so I figured I'd properly um…introduce myself."

"Oh," Zoey exclaimed, still smiling. "Well I'm Zoey, it's nice to 'properly' meet you." The brunette extended her hand out to the mechanic.

"Oh, um…" Ellis took Zoey's hand and shook, looking like a frightened animal as he did. "I uh…I use to work on cars before the infection."

Zoey tilted her head to the side with a puzzled expression. The southerner's awkwardness was almost cute. "So…you were a mechanic?"

"Oh, duh, yeah I was," Ellis stammered. The southerner smacked his forehead, groaning at his stupidity. Zoey simply giggled, finding the increasing level of awkwardness almost refreshing compared to her air of jealousy.

"Hold up," Jamie whispered sharply. The survivors all stopped in their tracks as the brunette and Fenra slowly inched towards the corner. Zoey and the others then heard the sobbing of a nearby Witch.

"So what's the plan," Alan asked, his tone eager with anticipation, "Have everyone run up on it, guns blazing and turn that Witch into Swiss cheese?"

"Subtlety is our best bet here," Jamie replied. "We're in a CEDA facility, the last thing we need to do is charge in guns blazing so the Director can send a goon squad to slow us down while he slips out."

"So sneaking around it is," Maria spoke up.

"I think it'd be easier to hose the bitch," Alan whispered, arching his neck to try and look around the corner, "Than to just sneak nearly a dozen people around her." In reply, Alan raised up his hand, revealing a flash-bang grenade in his gloved palm. Jamie and Doc both stared at the grenade with the same vacant stare.

"I don't even want to know how or where you got that thing," Jamie said. "We use that only if she notices us, got it?"

"Uh…guys." All eyes went to Maria who pointed down the hall. Everyone looked around the corner, seeing Fenra standing with a fistful of the Witch's hair in one hand, and a pistol with a barrel dripping blood in the other.

"You know, she's easy to kill if you don't pussy-foot around." Fenra dropped the Witch's limp body to the ground and continued on. Alan, who was now slack jawed looked from the zombie's corpse to Fenra and back again.

"I couldn't do that!" Alan turned to Jamie, who followed Fenra forward. "I shot a Witch in the _eye_and it didn't work! Where's she shoot this thing at?" Alan turned to Doc as Jamie continued walking. The blonde doctor paid no attention to his partner and followed Jamie.

As the group kept moving, Andrew approached Fenra. Jamie, Alan, and Doc both wondered the same thing: how long the brat would last.

"Hey, are we heading the right way to find my sister," Andrew asked. The redhead only stared ahead, ignoring the short young boy walking next to her. "Hey, I asked you a question! I'm wanting to know if we're going to find my sister! She was taken by these CEDA goons!"

"Then she's probably gone," Fenra finally said. Andrew scowled and then moved out in front of the redhead's path, causing her to stop.

"That's bullshit! I know she's alive, and you're going to help me find her!" Fenra slowly lowered her icy blue eyes on the boy in front of her. Before anything happened, Alan stepped between them and quickly pulled Andrew out of Fenra's way.

"Hey, come on now people. We'll find Amy, trust me."

Andrew wrenched his arm out of Alan's grip, "Fuck that! Trusting you idiots, letting you on Father Jackson's boat, taking us to that small town, sending us away to the military to be killed anyway, and now _this_mess! This is all because we trusted EVERYONE here! Including you shit-for-brains!"

"It's not particularly wise to smart off to a man who's three times your size," Fenra stated. The redhead moved her eyes to Alan, scanning him carefully for another moment before looking back down at Andrew. "Who also happens to be carrying a gun."

"Screw you," Andrew shouted, veering around to point a finger at the mysterious redhead. "This is all just FUCKED up! I'm sick and tired of everyone here! All I want is to find my sister and get the fuck out of-,"

"Heads up," Nicole shouted. All heads turned around just as a Smoker's tongue shot past Fenra and Alan, wrapping around Andrew's arms and torso. With a violent tug, Andrew was lifted off his feet and smacked hard into a wooden desk as the Smoker attempted to flee with its prey.

The survivors all moved to help Andrew, but Fenra stopped them. "What the hell are you doing," Zoey demanded. On cue, a Tank smashed through the walls between the survivors and the Smoker. "Damn it!"

"Just our damn luck," Coach screamed as he readied his shotgun.

"Split up," Fenra ordered before darting off to the side.

"Wait—what," Alan questioned in confusion. The bulky survivor thoughtlessly ran off after Fenra with Jamie right behind him.

"Damn it, move people, move move move!" Coach moved Maria and Kelsey behind him before they backtracked. Doc fired into the Tank, grabbing its attention before darting off to the right with Nicole and Rochelle. The Tank threw a desk at the three of them before turning to Nick, Ellis, and Zoey.

"Run for it," the brunette ordered, firing a sniper shot right in the Tank's eye. The beast roared in pain, stumbling backwards. The last three survivors went off in the same direction the Smoker dragged Andrew off. The Tank looked back at the now empty room with a giant hole in the side of its blood covered face in a blind rage.

Fenra ran through the offices without missing a beat, clearing turned over chairs, desks, and whatever else got in her way. Finally, she stopped to allow Jamie and Alan to catch up to her. The two panted softly, trying to catch their breath.

"Is it following us," the redhead questioned.

"How the hell should I know," Alan asked, a bit angry. "I can't tell when Tanks are going to attack us like you can."

"I think that warrants a bit of an explanation," Jamie added.

"Screw that. A bit? She owes us a WHOLE explanation!" Fenra glared at the two survivors across from her. Before she could fire back her well worded 'no' several deafening bangs accompanied by blinding flashes of light went off.

Jamie and Alan cried out, shielding their eyes with their arms. Fenra scowled, blinded by the light which caused her to close her eyes.

As the blinding light started to fade into multi-colored spots in their vision, Alan and Jamie noticed that they were surrounded by armed soldiers. The two survivors groaned in defeat, slowly raising their hands up. In the back of his mind, Jamie wondered if they would even be taken as prisoners or killed on the spot.

His question was answered as a few of the soldiers moved forward and restrained all three of them with their hands behind their backs. The soldiers forced the three survivors to start walking.

"Just our fucking luck," Alan murmured in discontent. Jamie rolled his eyes in agreement.

* * *

"Stuck by myself with two little girls," Coach murmured softly. "If this isn't just a kick in ma teeth."

"Yes, because whining is going to help us," Maria snapped as she grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher.

"What're you doing? We need to find Andrew and help him!" Maria looked around carefully for a moment before rushing towards a nearby pillar. She picked up a roll of duct tape that was lying on the ground.

"Coach, can you hold this against that?" The heavyset man was confused, but took the fire extinguisher from Maria and held it against the pillar. The small black haired girl unraveled the duct tape then started running around the pillar, taping the extinguisher to the pillar.

Kelsey murmured something quietly as she slowly fell back against a wall, holding the sides of her head. Her whole world seemed to be crashing around her since she first met Jamie and his group in that small town which seemed to be a lifetime ago. Losing her grandmother, brother, three of her only remaining friends was too much for her.

Something broke out of the wall not far from Kelsey, causing her head to snap to the side instinctively. Kelsey screamed briefly and was silenced as a pair of claws sliced her into pieces.

Coach and Maria spun around as a lanky creature broke through the thin wall. The infected was hunched over, with nothing but a thin layer of skin wrapped around its extended bones. On its hands were bloody claws that curved inward with pieces of Kelsey's clothing and hair draped over it. Its feet were also grotesque, toenails lengthened and hardened from the Green Flu virus.

"What the shit," Coach shouted.

"Shoot it," Maria shrieked. Coach aimed his shotgun and fired a second after the creature had already sprung off to the side. Its claws dug into the ceiling above its head as it swung forward and dove behind cover before Coach could land a successful shot. "Oh god," Maria whispered, her voice trembling. Despite herself, her eyes wandered over to the bloody, gory remains of Kelsey.

Immediately, the young girl turned her head and vomited.

Coach tried his best to ignore the puking child and aimed his shotgun where the zombie took cover, his flashlight beaming in its direction. A low, feral growling was heard. The creature knew it was being watched, and that it was pinned.

With a bestial cry, the zombie sprung out from cover, faster than Coach's reflexes could pull the trigger. The heavyset survivor quickly whipped his shotgun in the direction the creature jumped to. The zombie bounced off of the wall and shot towards Coach. The survivor quickly ducked down, pushing Maria to the floor as he did. The zombie's curved claws tore through the stone pillar that Maria taped the fire extinguisher to.

Coach rolled onto his back as the zombie rebounded off of the floor and back at the survivor. Coach aimed his shotgun and fired. The zombie hit the ground with a heavy thud in front of Coach and Maria.

The armed survivor aimed his gun at the infected monster, in case it decided to jump up and attack. Maria bravely walked up to the creature and examined the body carefully for a moment.

"What the hell is this thing," Coach asked.

"A new infected obviously," Maria answered in a whisper. "It's like a Witch…that can jump like a Hunter."

"So first it's that Lasher thing, which has a Tank's strength, and a Smoker's reach. Now we got this thing which can jump like a Hunter and has the claws of a damn Witch? What's next, a Boomer that can…fuck I dunno, charge you and slam you into the ground?"

"Don't give the bad guys any ideas…" Maria silently looked over in the directions of Kelsey's remains. "We better find some of the others fast…before one of these Rippers finds them first." Maria took point, wanting to get out of the room as quickly as she could and away from the remains of Kelsey.

That girl wasn't much older than Maria. The black haired girl knew that in the back of her mind that she could be the one lying in a pile of bloody meat instead of Kelsey.

* * *

Rochelle looked through the crack in the door carefully for a moment. She looked back to Doc and Nicole, "I think we're clear."

The two doctors were wrapped up, staring at files about CEDA's various experiments concerning the Green Flu. Rochelle honestly thought it was a waste, seeing as how they should be focused on surviving rather than studying the virus.

"This is crazy," Nicole murmured. "The Green Flu was a natural born virus that was altered?"

"Hard to believe that something so horrible can be natural," Doc said as he eyed one file in hand. "There aren't any reports on what the hell they added to the virus though to make it…well the way it turned out."

"The Director said it was some type of enzyme right?" Doc thought about it for a moment. He remembered back to the museum, after Zoey had caught both he and Nicole up to speed about what the Director had said. "What the hell type of enzyme could change a virus so drastically?"

"Uh, hello," Rochelle called out. The two doctors looked at the reporter who waved to them. "Does it matter? I'm sure the natural Green Flu was probably some lethal toxin right?"

"Actually no." Nicole held up one folder full of papers, "This says that the Green Flu was actually a mild healing drug used for a primitive tribe in South America." Nicole looked at the cover of the file for a moment, "I remember hearing about them. A few missionaries were sent to reach out to them. After a few of their villagers started to die, the people retaliated and blamed the missionaries, killing all of them."

"I think I know what you're talking about," Rochelle said softly, cupping her chin as she thought back. "I remember I _was_ signed up to go to South America, but they canceled it at the last minute. There was some giant forest fire or something right? It took out a huge section of one of the rain forests and wiped that tribe out didn't it?"

"According to these official records," Nicole said, rereading one of the documents.

"You don't…you don't think CEDA was behind it do you?" Nicole and Rochelle exchanged worried looks.

"I don't think so," Doc replied. "Even CEDA wouldn't cross that line. They need the natural born Green Flu, which they can't get if they destroy the ecosystem." The blonde relaxed his arm by his side, still holding a few documents as he looked to Rochelle and Nicole, "What I want to know is if it comes from a plant, or some type of animal, or a mixture of herbs and different poisons."

"I would guess some type of plant," Nicole said with a shrug. "No type of animal could bring out a natural virus _this_ deadly, no matter how much extra crap you add to it."

"I'm kind of curious now," Rochelle began, "if maybe those missionaries and CEDA are somehow connected?" The reporter walked towards the two doctors and started sorting through the massive pile of folders.

"I don't remember CEDA bothering with missionary work before," Doc murmured, reading his file. "This has nothing on the origins of the Green Flu, or what they added to make people mindless zombies! It's like the Director left this evidence out for us to just screw with us!"

"Almost like he's telling us the truth, but keeping the _whole_ truth from us," Nicole added. "But…didn't Fenra say that anything concerning CEDA activity had been wiped clean in this building?" Doc paused for a moment, looking up from his reading to look gravely at Nicole. "We just found these files lying out in the open."

"You don't think…someone left these out in the open do you?"

Nicole shrugged, looking down at the documents in hand, "Maybe someone is expecting us to live through this mess…and wants us to report CEDA in case the outside world doesn't know the truth."

"But who would want us to do that? And how could they have these types of files without being some high ranking CEDA official? We've killed Elliot, that guy at Dead End outpost was killed by Diana, Williams was taken out, we took out Diana's right hand goon Jeff, Diana was killed at the base by the Director…who else could there be?"

"Uh…guys…" The doctors turned to Rochelle, whose face was painted with shock. "I don't mean to interrupt, but…you might wanna see this." Nicole and Doc walked over towards Rochelle, standing on either side of the reporter and looking at the file in her hands.

Nicole's eyes widened as she gasped softly while Doc's eyes hardened before he reread the file.

Rochelle held the file of one of the missionaries sent to South America, accompanied by a picture that hung at the top of the profile by a paperclip. The picture was of a young woman, mid twenties at the very oldest, with smooth black hair pulled back into a high ponytail with her bangs held to the side by a hairpin, with deep, dark blue eyes.

The top of the profile read, _'Diana Robertson, newest volunteer. Status: MIA.'_

Doc, Rochelle, and Nicole all looked at each other with the same astonished faces before staring back at the file with solemn looks.

* * *

**Agh! Holy crap an actual update? What's going on here? To answer your question as quickly and simply as I can: one of my best friends was going through a very VERY rough patch in her life, and I was doing my best to help her through it. The patch also concerned another best friend of mine, but he had nothing to do with the patch being rough whatsoever. But the situation seems to have resolved itself for now (hopefully for good), so I'm back to writing like a mother junker!**

**So, I'm hoping that this update is worth the wait. Hell, over two months? No update is worth that. I'm very sorry to all of my fans! The ones who stuck around that is lol. I hope you all at least like this chapter! I'll work on the next one ASAP!**

**Oh, also the idea of Fenra's character is credited to Lunar Wolf Fenrir. Before the business with my friend he got my creativity flowing with the character's background and history and what have you. Again: ENJOY!**


	19. Raising the Stakes

Jamie looked back and forth between guards. He knew that there would be no way in hell that they could fight their way through this many armed soldiers. The brunette turned to Alan, wondering what the meat-head was thinking.

The head soldier stopped at the end of a hallway. He slid a small hidden area of the wall open and punched in a few buttons. The wall as a whole then slid to the side, revealing a small room. The soldiers and the survivors stepped inside. Alan watched as the soldier pressed a few more buttons, causing the wall to close again.

In the darkness, a few lights came on as the floor started to move down. Jamie and Alan looked around in bewilderment before they were shined upon with a blinding light. Once their eyes adjusted, the duo were shocked by what they saw. There were pods all around them, with glass windows to show the person's face on all sides.

"Holy...shit..."

"They're all meant to be test subjects," Fenra said, keeping her cold eyes forward. Alan and Jamie turned their heads momentarily before turning back to all of the nameless victims before them.

Eventually, one face stood out amongst everyone else.

"AMY!" Alan moved forward, pushing past the guards and stopped in front of the glass wall, "Amy wake up!" Two guards grabbed Alan and pulled him back. The bulky survivor fought back, trying his best to wrench free from their grasp. "Amy!" Eventually, the young woman's face disappeared as the elevator descended further. "Damn it!"

"Alan," Jamie snapped. "Don't do anything stupid yet okay?" The bulky survivor scowled furiously before lowering his head a bit in defeat.

The captured survivors on display soon disappeared, replaced by blank walls before the elevator came to a stop. A pair of double doors slid open, revealing a long, sterile white hallway. The soldiers pushed Jamie, Alan, and Fenra forward.

The three survivors looked around, seeing various forms of infected caged behind thick, heavy glass walls. The infected monsters tried to break free, clawing and bashing their bodies against their prisons, but to no avail. The soldiers pressed the survivors to move forward.

After moving through a maze of halls, eventually reaching a large, open hanger like the one in the previous CEDA facility. One very familiar man walked up, accompanied by two armed guards, causing the survivors to glare daggers through him.

The Director stopped in front of the survivors, an arrogant, confident smile on his face as he looked down at them. "Welcome, Alan, Jamie...and Shana." The former two snapped their heads to their redhead companion, who simply hardened her glare at the Director. "It's so nice to see you all again. And under such pleasant circumstances."

"Pleasant meaning me restrained so I can't kick your ass," Alan snapped. The Director moved his eyes over towards Alan and smiled. One soldier made sure to hold the survivor firmly in place.

"No, not at all Alan. The final stages of my plan are nearly in fruition. And you three get to be witnesses to it."

"Where's my brother?" Jamie and Alan turned to Fenra, whose body had tensed, as if she were ready to pounce.

"Brother," Alan asked matter-of-factly.

"Not now Alan," Jamie quietly ordered.

Fenra kept her cold blue eyes focused on the Director, who slowly approached her. The man stood over the redhead, looking down at her with a cocky glint in his eyes.

"Your brother is...not available." Fenra squirmed a bit as two guards held her in place.

"If you've done anything to him...I swear I'll kill you myself." The Director tilted his head to the side with a patronizing look in his eyes.

"Take them away," the Director ordered. The soldiers pulled the survivors away from their boss as the Director walked away to deal with other issues.

* * *

Doc, Nicole, and Rochelle kept staring at the profile in their hands concerning Diana Robertson. Doc ran his hand through his hair, unable to take his eyes off of the young woman's picture.

"So...that crazy assassin who was the Director's daughter...was a missionary," Rochelle questioned.

"A volunteer worker at that," Nicole added. "Maybe it was a front so she could get closer to the Green Flu without causing a stir from within CEDA?"

"Roe, did you look through all of those files," Doc asked.

"No, I just saw this and figured that you all would like to know. Do you really think there's gonna be anyone else besides Diana in here?"

"Can't hurt to check," Doc said. Rochelle nodded, her face expressing her doubt that there would be anything more interesting in these files than a profile on Diana. "Nicole, let's keep going through these documents on the virus. Maybe we can find something, or at least come up with some type of theory." The black haired woman nodded before heading towards Doc to help him sort through the various documents.

* * *

Coach moved slowly, crouched low to the ground with Maria right behind him. The former was on edge, watching every dark corner after his encounter with the new infected. Maria was still silent as could be. It almost was reminiscent of a time long ago where she chose to be a mute.

"Damn it," Coach whispered to himself as he peaked around a corner. "Where the hell is everyone else at?" The heavyset survivor looked back over his shoulder at Maria. The little girl was silent, her eyes empty as she looked at her feet. "Are you alright Maria?" The black haired girl simply nodded in response. Coach sighed, frustrated that he had to take care of a little girl. He didn't mind it, but he had enough trouble watching Ellis back in the day.

The sound of voices caused Coach and Maria both to shrink back almost instantly. Whoever was talking, they were just around the corner, coming towards the hall. Coach steadied his shotgun, taking in a short breath. He turned around the corner quickly, aiming his gun up while he crouched.

To his shock, Coach found himself aiming a shotgun at Zoey, Nick, and Ellis. "Shit," the heavyset man sighed. Lowering his shotgun, Coach rose to his feet and motioned for Maria to come out of hiding. The young girl did, and immediately went towards Zoey.

Bewildered as Maria hugged her, Zoey looked up at Coach, "What happened?"

"Yeah, where's the other little girl," Nick asked. "Chelsea or whatever?"

"Her name was Kelsey, Nick," Ellis replied. "And yeah, what did happen to her? Awe man, I hope she didn't get lost. This one time my buddy Keith got lost in a hospital, and there was apparently some type of virus or something going around and…huh, maybe that was the zombie virus or something?"

"Now really ain't the time Ellis," Coach said rather firmly.

"Okay, but what happened?" Coached sighed, looking over at Maria who still clung to Zoey. The brunette immediately snapped her head down, placing her hand on top of Maria's head.

"Are you okay," Zoey asked in a whisper. "Are you hurt Maria?" The little black haired girl shook her head. Zoey looked up at Coach with a confused and semi-hardened glare, "What the hell happened?"

"There was…I dunno, some type of new infected. It was like a cross between a Hunter and a Witch. I hopped all over the place and it…well it got Kelsey." Nick pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes at the news. Ellis simply went slack jawed, looking off to the side while rubbing the back of his neck.

Zoey looked back down at Maria, knowing why the little girl was so silent. The brunette propped her gun against the wall and knelt down in front of Maria, placing both hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "Maria…" The black haired girl slowly moved her eyes up to meet Zoey's. "It wasn't your fault Maria. You can't blame yourself okay…?"

Maria simply nodded as her eyes drifted down. Zoey closed her eyes and hugged Maria with her hand on the back of the younger girl's head.

"Did ya'll find the boy," Coach murmured, leaning towards Nick and Ellis.

"Not in one piece," Nick softly replied. Coach shook his head, running his hand over his bald top.

"This shit is fucked up." Ellis nodded in agreement with Coach. "Ain't no reason for kids to be gettin killed like this…or having to see other people get chopped up like that."

Nick looked back at Zoey who was trying to comfort Maria before looking back at Coach, "Remember: this is all that Director guy's fault. He's gotta pay for this Coach." The large survivor grimaced before looking away from Nick. The conman blinked and rolled his eyes in disbelief before looking at his fellow survivor. "You gotta be kidding me. You still don't think killing him is the right thing to do?"

"It ain't right Nick. We can't just kill whoever we want. It ain't right."

"You know what else isn't right," Nick snapped, keeping his voice down, "Being chased around half of the country by ravaging mutated freaks! Having teenagers and kids fighting for their lives all because some madman has a god complex ain't right. Everything that's been going on for the past month and half ain't right Coach. Do you want to let the Director go so another few hundred thousand people have to go what we are?"

"No Nick, I'm not saying let the man go but-,"

"Coach, he'll find a way to cheat the system," Nick cut off. "I've done it for years and I'm just a petty criminal. You think someone like the Director couldn't exploit the system to work for him? Killing him is the best solution for everyone. Trust me."

"Do you hear that…?" Nick and Coach looked over at Ellis with perplexed expressions. Their faces soon changed into ones of horror as they saw a lanky zombie with curved claws.

"Shit, not again," Coach shouted. Zoey looked past Maria as the latter turned her head.

"What the-," Zoey quickly grabbed Maria and moved the little girl behind her, aiming a pistol at the new zombie. "What the hell is that thing?"

"Ripper," Maria said in a barely audible whisper.

The Ripper threw its head back and let out an inhuman, ear piercing shriek. Coach, Nick, and Ellis all lowered their weapons to cringe away and covered their ears in pain. Zoey turned her head a bit to the side, closing one eye as she tried to block out the noise. Despite the ear shattering noise, Zoey was slowly getting agitated with the zombie.

Maria slapped her hands over her ears, closing her eyes as she tried to block out the noise. She didn't understand why, but she felt as though her head were going to explode. She wanted nothing more than to run up and punch the Ripper in the face to keep it quiet.

Finally, the Ripper stopped shrieking before charging forward. The wall behind the zombie exploded outward as the Tank the survivors encountered earlier, with a hole in its face, rushed down the hall.

"Oh of COURSE," Nick screamed in anger.

Zoey scooped up Maria, turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Coach, Nick, and Ellis all fired at the Ripper and the Tank. The former of the two infected bounced off of the walls and stayed low to the floor to avoid the bullets as best as it could, while the Tank continued forward, not slowing down in the slightest.

Zoey turned as she stopped in front of an open door, firing at the infected to cover her fellow survivors. Nick turned in the door first, making sure the room was clear. As it turned out, the door led to a stairway. The conman popped around the doorway, aiming in the hallway as he fired his combat rifle in short bursts.

One burst hit the Ripper, causing it to stumble out of the way of the Tank's rampage. Ellis stopped in front of Zoey, motioning for the brunette to hand Maria over to him. Without a response, Zoey gave the little girl to the mechanic. Ellis ran into the door with Maria hanging off of his neck while Zoey and Nick fired at the Tank. Coach turned around, pushing Zoey towards the door as he cocked his shotgun. The Tank focused on Coach, grunting heavily as it closed in. The former school teacher raised his shotgun as the Tank lifted its massive arms up above Coach. The survivor narrowed his eyes before pulling the trigger, blasting his shotgun a few feet away from the Tank's face.

The beast cried out in pain, falling backwards as it swung its massive arms around wildly, smashing through walls and anything else it hit. Coach quickly turned and ran towards the stairs with the others.

"Do we go up er down," Ellis asked. Nick opened his mouth to suggest something before the wall was busted down. The now blind Tank roared in fury as it rushed in the survivors' directions.

Without an order, the four survivors quickly ran up the stairs, with Zoey and Nick firing periodically into the monster. The Tank stumbled about, using its massive hands to try and grab the illusive survivors.

"Who's got fire," Nick asked. Ellis stopped, and used one hand to grab a Molotov strapped to his waist.

Nick took the bomb from Ellis and pulled out a lighter. He ignited the cloth of the bottle before looking down at the Tank. The conman rushed further down the stairs to get closer to the Tank, much to the surprise of the other survivors.

"Stupid man," Zoey growled as she followed after Nick, firing at the Tank to get its attention.

Nick glanced back over his shoulder to see Zoey following him, reloading her pistol before continuing to fire at the Tank. The conman looked back and waited as the Tank came up the closest flight of stairs. Nick crouched low to the ground, hopefully to avoid getting hit by the Tank swinging its arms around like a rapid beast. The survivor quickly kissed the bottle before hurling it against the Tank's already bleeding face.

The beast cried out in agony, the flames quickly spreading over its body. Nick quickly got up, turned around, and ran up the stairs. Zoey kept her pistol and eyes on the Tank as it failed about in agonizing pain. The beast finally swung to its right side, tipping too much of its weight to one side and falling over the railing. The flaming Tank roared in defeat as it plummeted into the darkness below.

Nick, sweating and panting lightly looked over at Zoey, whose hair was a bit disheveled and sweaty herself. "Nice job," the conman praised.

"You didn't do too bad either," Zoey replied with a bit of respect for Nick in her tone.

"Was that stupid enough to compare with my nephew?" Zoey smirked, looking back down over the railing.

"Close," the former college student finally replied. Nick laughed before patting Zoey on the shoulder, moving up the stairs to rejoin with Coach and Ellis. Zoey smiled, still looking down where the Tank fell before catching up with the other survivors.

One of the doors opened suddenly, causing Coach, Nick, and Zoey to snap their guns up. To greet them, Nicole aimed her sniper back at them while Rochelle simply gasped in surprise. The black haired doctor rolled her eyes before lowering her weapon as the others did the same in kind.

"We've gotta stop meeting people like this," Zoey said to herself.

"Good to see you too," Nicole replied with a smirk on her face. "Did you guys find anyone else? Jamie or Alan?"

"No," Nick murmured. "We also lost the other two kids. Andrew and Kelsey." Nicole and Rochelle's faces fell, both of them feeling regret for the two children.

"Maria is a bit shaken up," Coach whispered, motioning back to the little girl. "She watched Kelsey get…well…"

"Ripped to shreds," Maria finished, stepping onto the ground as she released Ellis' neck. The girl kept her composure, looking at the ground while anyone else her age would've broken down already. "It's alright. I'm fine…"

Nicole stepped forward, placing her hand on Maria's shoulder. Instinctively, the younger girl stepped closer to Nicole. "Doc is in the other room. We found documents concerning a lot of CEDA's actions leading up to the first infection. We also found out some interesting information on Diana…"

"The dead bitch," Nick snapped, immediately angered by her name. "Who cares? She's dead."

"Yes, we know," Zoey replied, rolling her eyes. "Dead bitch is dead. But it couldn't hurt to find out all we can."

"What about Jamie," the concerned uncle of the group demanded.

"We'll decide what documents to bring with us and then we'll go on a manhunt," Nicole replied. "Besides, they have Fenra. I saw what she could do. I doubt they're in trouble."

* * *

"We are sooooo dead," Alan murmured. Jamie rolled his eyes while he observed the situation. Barring the fact that he, Alan, and Fenra had their hands cuffed to a nearby pipe above their heads, high enough that they could barely touch their feet to the ground, he might be able to find something else out.

Everyone seemed to be in somewhat of a hustle, moving about every which way. The only person remaining stationary was the Director, who sat in a random desk while typing periodically on his laptop.

"What's he doing," Jamie asked himself quietly.

"I would guess he's checking to see where the virus has gone so far." Alan and Jamie turned their heads in Fenra's direction. The redhead kept her icy blue eyes dead set on the Director. "He's planning on spreading the virus across the planet."

"Why," Alan pried. "And why the hell didn't you tell us you had a brother?"

"I didn't expect any of you to survive long enough for us to bond. Looks like I was right." Alan narrowed his eyes while Jamie looked irritated. "I don't care what happens after this. But I'm going to kill him."

"He did something to your brother," Jamie stated. Alan glanced back over at the brunette with a curious look in his eyes. Fenra's eyes hardened on the Director before slowly turning over towards Jamie. "Was your brother a test subject? A casualty? What?"

"Mind your damn business," Fenra snapped angrily.

"I'll tell you." The survivors turned forward, seeing the Director approach them. Fenra's eyes bored furiously through the Director, who had no discernable expression one way or the other. "Shana here and her brother Alex, use to work for CEDA, and for me." Jamie's eyes widened slightly while Alan's jaw dropped. The bulkier survivor turned to Fenra, who simply kept her eyes on the Director. "Alex and Shana's mother died during Shana's birth, and their father ran away, leaving them on their own. Alex managed to put Shana through basic schooling, which she flew through. The girl was a genius, despite having no advanced schooling herself.

"Alex figured he could put Shana through the next step: college. In order to do that, he joined the military and somehow managed to make it so that his sister could get his benefits: free schooling, a place to live, money from the government, and so on. He did everything for his baby sister…" Fenra scowled, pulling against her handcuffs a bit in anger. Jamie looked over at Fenra, silent for a moment before turning back to the Director.

"Alex himself was a heightened marvel of physical prowess, despite having no previous training. Eventually though, he was injured and had to be discharged from service. I discovered these two…geniuses and sent an old friend to make them an offer. Williams, you remember him don't you? He arrived at their house and offered Shana an internship and Alex a job as a security officer. Shana continued her schooling while working for me on the weekends, while Alex worked every day he could. I took a special interest in him."

Fenra practically growled in frustration as she pulled suddenly and very hard against her bonds. The loud noise of cuffs pulling against metal caused Jamie and Alan to jump slightly. The Director however, remained still, pausing for a moment to stare coldly at the redhead.

"Thanks to CEDA's…special methods, I managed to fix Alex's injury from the military. After that, through fighting other guards, including some of my closer employees, Alex became my personal bodyguard. The performance booster that Elliot put on Zoey's back was in development a few days before the infection was unleashed. I offered for Alex to test the performance booster. He told me he'd think about it, and by that he meant he didn't want to do anything without checking with his dear sister. The next day, he accepted to use it."

"Son of a bitch," Fenra seethed, pulling harder against the cuffs.

"You let him use something like that," Alan asked softly.

"NO!" The redhead snapped her head Alan and Jamie's way, "I told him I wanted to look at whatever chemical they were using myself before he did anything! The dumb shit just did it anyway!"

"But of course, Shana here decided to sneak into restricted area where I was keeping the performance booster…as well as the Green Flu. My daughter, Diana, found the little spy and brought her to me. The only reason I didn't kill her on the spot was because Alex was in the room."

"Didn't stop you from trying did it you sick son of a bitch." The Director lazily turned towards Fenra before continuing.

"I had Diana and a few others take some of our earlier infected specimens to her house, in order to tie up any loose ends. If she was taken out by some type of serial killer, rather than a properly trained assassin, there wouldn't be an investigation towards CEDA, or any mistrust from Alex. However…I underestimated how far the fool would go to save his sister. He managed to take out all of my specimens, and save his sister, thanks to my performance booster. Thankfully, Diana was on the scene and took care of the two of them quickly enough. I had Shana and Alex sent to separate facilities, where I continued my tests with them as specimens. Shana was injected with the D-enzyme and a touch of the Green Flu, turning her into a watered down version of what my daughter was."

"Wait, you injected your own daughter with a virus," Alan asked. "You are a crazy fucker you know that!"

"Don't pretend to understand what you don't know," the Director replied. "My daughter was steadily becoming…power hungry. I could tell. That's the only reason I sacrificed her, so she wouldn't try to betray me and ruin what I've started."

"You're still a twisted bitch," Jamie snapped furiously. "And I'm gonna see to it you have a one-way trip straight to hell."

"Why wait," Fenra asked, turning to the boys. The survivors all shared the same expression before turning back to the Director. In one motion, the three survivors pulled forward with all their strength, wrenching the pipe they were cuffed to off of its hinges.

The Director gasped, genuinely startled before stepping back. Fenra's eyes, full of bloodlust, shot forward, tackling the Director to the ground. Jamie and Alan quickly slide their cuffs off the pipe before looking up. All of the soldiers in the hanger now made their way towards the survivors.

"Shit," Alan snapped. "We gotta get out of here!"

Jamie turned towards Fenra to get her off the Director, who she was chocking with the chains of her handcuffs, before some powerful force threw him forward. The brunette hit the ground and slid across the floor. Alan turned around in shock before a fist with the force of a train struck him across the face. The former cage fighter hit the ground, sliding up next to Jamie.

"Holy shit," Jamie groaned, slowly rolling over onto his back.

The man who struck Jamie and Alan approached Fenra, placing his hand on her back. The redhead quickly spun around, clawing the man's arm as she was prepared to kill him. However, she stopped and froze with terror. The man that held onto her was a heavily built man with his hair buzzed on the sides, and flat on the top. He had piercing, light green eyes which were blank an empty.

"A…Alex…?"

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me," Jamie murmured as he and Alan finally scraped themselves off of the floor.

Alex lifted Fenra off of the Director and hurled her with tremendous force. The redhead slammed hard into the concrete wall behind Jamie and Alan, who ducked as she came flying at them. The two survivors looked at Fenra in shock before snapping their heads back towards Alex and the Director, who rose up off the floor, rubbing his neck.

"We gotta go," Alan shouted as he started to pick Fenra up.

"Duck!" Alan snapped his head up to the sound of Jamie's voice, only to be met with the bottom of a leather shoe. Alan flew back, hitting the ground hard as he slid into a stack of crates.

Jamie looked over to whoever just kicked Alan before looking forward. A firm hand shot forward, gripping Jamie by the throat and lifting him off of the ground. The survivor clawed at the man's hand, looking in shock at a familiar face. Jamie tried gasping for air before the man hurled in the opposite direction from Alan. The brunette crashed through another stack of crates and slid back off of the ground, groaning before he came to a stop.

Alan looked up, holding his dazed head in pain. Upon seeing the two new attackers, the former cage fighter couldn't help but gasp at the duo. "No…Nelson…Amy…"

"The performance booster, with the right modifications to the device that injects it, makes a perfect controller for those…less than willing subjects," the Director called out, loud enough for the survivors to hear. He waved his hand to his common soldiers, silently ordering them to stop. "Only a few can use the booster without dying from the affects it has on the body. Thankfully, Alex was a prime specimen. Amy, who worked rigorously every day to keep her perfect form, and Nelson who chopped down heavy trees and hauled off timber every day for a living were also excellent test subjects."

"You sick SHIT!" Alan stood up, wiping the corner of his mouth as he stormed towards the Director, "People aren't subjects or playthings for you to use!" Amy quickly placed herself between Alan and the Director. Her normal bright green eyes were different somehow. They were a lighter green, and more piercing than bright. Her long, dark blonde hair was pulled up into a tight topknot, with a few single strands hanging down in front of her face. "Damn it, Amy! It's me Alan!"

The blonde shot her arm forward, grabbing and twisting Alan's wrist. The survivor cried out in pain and fell to his knees. Alan slowly looked up, past his pain, silently pleading to Amy. The blonde's face didn't change in the slightest.

"Fuck," Alan groaned, almost angry. Using his other hand, Alan grabbed Amy's arm, twisted to the side and then hurled her in the opposite direction. Amy flipped around gracefully, landing on top of a wooden crate with a slight shake and thud.

Alan rushed towards the Director, eyes filled with rage. Before he could even get halfway to him, Alan was sidelined by Nelson. The former lumberjack spun himself and Alan around before slamming the survivor face first into the floor. Nelson pinned his arm on the back of Alan's neck, while pulling the survivors arm behind his back.

"I'm afraid you can't compete. While the performance booster could bring someone like Alex up to Diana's level, you're still no match for it as you are. You could barely handle Zoey alone, and you only got Diana by sneaking up one her and shooting her with a sniper rifle. How can you even hope to handle three?"

"Like this!" The Director, Alex, Amy, and the soldier all looked to the other end of the hanger. Jamie stood up with an assault rifle in hand, firing the automatic weapon across the hanger.

Alex quickly pulled the Director to the ground as Amy ducked behind the crate she stood on and Nelson hunched lower to the ground, and on Alan. A few soldiers tried to raise, draw, or aim their weapons at Jamie, but they were too slow or missed before they were gunned down. Other smarter soldiers hit the ground before Jamie even started firing.

The brunette quickly stepped backwards, reloading the gun with impressive speed before firing across the hanger, sweeping the gun in the opposite direction. He got a few of the soldiers he either wounded or hit the deck on his way towards the super-soldiers and the Director. All and all, Jamie killed more than a handful of normal soldiers.

Amy shot up, flipping stylishly over the crate she hid behind before rushing Jamie. Nelson got off Alan and charged brunette survivor as well. Jamie fired a few bursts at Amy and Nelson before running out of one of the hanger doors. The two super-soldiers quickly gave chase.

"Stop!" Immediately, Amy and Nelson froze in place, standing firmly at attention before turning towards the Director. The middle-aged man turned around to the other exit, seeing that Alan and Shana were gone as well. "Damn it. Well thought out Jamie." The Director turned towards his common soldiers, who were either checking their comrades or getting off of the ground. "Spread out and find them! Bring the survivors back to me! All of you, move!"

The soldiers obeyed the Director, despite that some thought they should check to help the wounded, or that he should send the super-soldiers after the survivors.

After the hanger was cleared out, Alex, Amy, and Nelson stood by the Director's side as he moved back towards his laptop. "I can't risk loose ends when I'm this close." The Director started typing on his laptop, "Gather the samples and weapons. Load them onboard my helicopter and get ready to leave." A screen popped up, reading 'self destruction: thirty minutes.' The Director leaned back to ensure that his bodyguards were following orders. Once he confirmed this, the Director pressed a button on the keyboard and started the timer.

* * *

Jamie walked through the dark underbelly of the CEDA hanger. Adrenaline was still bumping through his body as he swept the flashlight around for anything that moved. He panted heavily, face covered in a sheet of sweat before he moved as far away from the hanger as he could. Pissing off three soldiers who were essentially three copies of Diana definitely was one of the more suicidal things he's done. Now he was separated from Alan and Fenra, he knew he was going to run into a Tank, or a Witch or something else bad.

"Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me," Jamie murmured softly.

Little did Jamie suspect that something was watching him from the shadows.

* * *

Alan and Fenra quickly opened the door and hid in a nearby supply closet, which was more of a small armory. Alan panted heavily, holding the door shut for a moment before stepping back and leaning against a wall. He looked over, seeing Fenra grabbing a pair of knives, two pistols, and a magnum while eyeing several other guns in the process.

"You're joking?" Alan got off of the wall and took a couple of steps towards Fenra. "You're wanting to go back? I don't care how many guns you have, if those three are anything like Diana-,"

"Diana was better than my brother," Fenra snapped. "He had the performance booster when Diana took us both away."

"Okay, they still have superhuman abilities and kicked our asses squarely enough. We just took out Diana not too long ago. I don't want to get my ass kicked again by super powered guys like that."

"Fine, then stay here and hide." Alan ran his hand over his head, sighing in frustration. Fenra grabbed a shotgun and sniper rifle before heading towards the door. Alan stuck his arm out, blocking the door for the redhead. Fenra's eyes narrowed before she slowly glared up at Alan.

"You're going to kill the Director…even if you die aren't you?" Fenra made no response, still glaring angrily at Alan. The bulky survivor then put his whole body between the redhead and the door. "I can't let you do that."

"This has become beyond personal," Fenra snapped viciously. "He's using my brother to destroy the world! I know he'd rather be dead than serve that sick bastard!"

"Believe me, I would too! But you becoming a martyr isn't something your brother would want!"

Fenra leaned forward, her face twisting in a blinding rage, "How the fuck would you know?"

Alan's expression remained even as he simply looked back at Fenra, his eyes equally as hard as hers. "I'm an older brother too. I put my little sister on an evac helicopter to get her away from the zombies. The helicopter crashed…" Fenra's eyes widened slightly, softening almost instantly. Alan took a small breath, trying not to tear up, "There's nothing I would want more…than for my sister to be alive. You have no idea what it's like to live, knowing I was responsible for my sister's death."

"You weren't…" Fenra stopped herself, lowering her eyes to the floor. For the first time since Alan had known her, Fenra looked sad. The fact she had an expression other than mad or pissed off said a lot. "That wasn't your fault Alan…and I don't blame myself. I blame the Director and-,"

"But if your brother knew," Alan cut her off. "If killing the Director somehow snapped Alex out of this mind control or whatever bullshit is being used, what do you think he'll think? Do you really think he'd just want you to just bash your way through everything and kill the Director at the cost of your own life?"

"What the hell do you want from me," Fenra whispered. The redhead lifted her head up, her cold eyes looking almost warming as she looked into Alan's. "For the past month…I thought my brother was dead. I wanted nothing more than to kill the Director."

"Listen to me…I know what losing someone can do to you. Jamie does too." A flash of curiosity crossed Fenra's face. "Jamie's older brother…my best friend, gave his life to make sure Jamie got away safe. Now the idiot is going to throw himself on any and every sword to make sure he can save every life he possibly can. You…you just want to kill the Director out of revenge, no matter what. You can't let this anger and hate consume you. Otherwise you just become a monster."

Fenra's eyes softened even more. The redhead cried out and hurled a gun across the room. Alan flinched noticeably, worried that the gun might go off. Fenra hugged the bulky survivor, burying her face in his chest as her shoulders shook gently with sobs. Alan stood there dumbfounded before he slowly, cautiously put his arms around her.

The two stood there in silence. Alan held Fenra firmly, and close to try and comfort her. "It's okay Shana…we'll get the Director…but we're going to do it for the right reasons okay?"

Before Fenra could answer, the door burst open and one man aimed his rifle at the two survivors, "Alright, step out nice and easy!"

Fenra froze, her eyes cold as she stared at nothing. She felt Alan's hands reach behind her, grabbing the two pistols she holstered against the back of her pants.

Alan spun around, firing the dual pistols into the soldier as Fenra turned around, grabbing an SMG. A couple of guards moved in front of the doorway to aim at the survivors, but were gunned down as Alan moved to the side while Fenra shot and killed them. Alan aimed at a few soldiers leaning against the wall outside and quickly gunned them down as well. Fenra pulled the pin on a grenade and tossed it outside. The explosive went off, taking out a few soldiers while incapacitating the rest.

Alan looked over at Fenra, who looked back and smiled. The bulky survivor let out a small laugh of victory before getting off the ground and heading towards the exit with the redhead. Before Alan could make a witty comment, he was kicked across the face and sent stumbling to the side. Fenra snapped her head around, staring at Amy and Nelson standing before her.

"Damn it," she growled. Alan rubbed his jaw and looked forward. He slumped over in disbelief.

* * *

"God damn it…"

Jamie ducked as a strange creature shot out of the shadows and swung at his head. The brunette rolled across the concrete ground and fired in the direction of the infected before it rushed behind the cover of some steel pipes. The brunette scowled, shining his light in the general area of the monster.

"My damn freakin luck," the brunette murmured. He saw movement behind the pipes as the creature growled lowly. Jamie let out a burst from his gun, causing the monster to cry out and run away. The survivor shook his head and, despite his better judgment, chased after the infected.

Jamie followed the creature's trail and slid around the corner, aiming his weapon at a group with flashlights. "Jamie!" The brunette's face was covered in shock before he lowered his gun. Zoey came through the many lights and hugged him. "Thank god we found you finally."

"Seriously, we need like a special whistle or something," Nick said, lowering his gun. "One of these days we're gonna shoot each other."

"Hey, where's Alan," Doc's voice asked. "Wasn't he with you and the redhead chick?"

"We uh…had a bit of trouble."

"Meaning things got more complicated…right?" Jamie shrugged to Doc's response, with an apologetic smile. "Well…great."

* * *

Alan and Fenra were once again cuffed and being escorted by Amy and Nelson back towards the hanger. Alan turned his head to look back over his shoulder, "Amy…it's me Alan." Fenra looked over at the bulky survivor. She hoped whatever he was going to do would work. "Amy…you've gotta remember me. What about your brother Andrew?" Amy continued looking forward, eyes empty and focused. "Please, Amy, you have to remember us! I know you can fight this!"

The blonde shoved Alan by the back of his head, causing him to stumble forward. Alan groaned in frustration. If he couldn't break through to Amy, it didn't leave a lot of options left on how to deal with the situation.

Alan and Fenra entered the hanger, where they saw the Director and Alex standing next to a helicopter. "Well," the middle aged man spoke. "It's so good to see you both again."

"Fuck off," Alan snapped. The Director rolled his eyes before backhanding Alan across the face.

"I'm tired of your mouth boy." The older man turned around and headed towards his laptop resting on a few crates. He placed his gloved hands over the computer and turned it to Alan and Fenra. "You have two choices." Alan's eyes were wide with horror, focusing on the timer which had a little over ten minutes left. Fenra's eyes were kept centered on the Director only. "You can willingly become my next pair of test subjects, or I can leave you hear to die in a fiery explosion. Your choice."

"You're joking right," Fenra spat angrily. Alan turned his gaze to the Director to glare at the man himself. "I'd rather burn alive than be your little test subject."

The Director sighed, despite having known that's what their answer would be, "Disappointing…regardless there's no way for you to stop the timer anyway." The CEDA president turned his back to the survivors and headed towards his jet.

The two survivors looked at each other knowingly. Alan sighed softly before nodding his head. The former cage fighter quickly rose to his feet and swung his head back. His skull cracked against Amy's face, causing the blonde to cry out in pain. Alan spun around and swung his leg up high into the air just as Amy ducked below the strike. The super-soldier attempted to sweep her leg across the ground, but her leg was stopped when Fenra crouched and pinned the blonde's leg in place. Alan closed his eyes before bringing his heel down on the back of Amy's head with all his might. The blonde's face smacked hard into the concrete, knocking her unconscious.

The Director and Alex turned around with the latter quickly running towards the survivors once he saw what was happening. The older man scowled furiously before heading back towards his jet.

Alan ducked as Nelson swung a fist up at him, narrowly avoiding the blow. Fenra came up and rolled over Alan's back and slammed her foot in the lumberjack's face. The redhead narrowed her eyes at Nelson before she noticed Alex coming at her. She narrowly dodged her brother's straight fist. Alan ran forward, slamming the top of his shaved head into Alex's gut. The super-soldier keeled over, letting out a groan of pain. Alan then quickly swung his head up, slamming the back of his skull against Alex's chin. The super-soldier quickly wrapped his broad arms around Alan and began to squeeze tightly. Alan groaned, surprised by how much stronger Alex was than him at this point. If his hands weren't cuffed behind his back, Alan figured he could break out of the bear hug.

Fenra inched forward to help before she stopped in her tracks as Nelson blocked her path. The redhead spun around and attempted to kick the man's face. Nelson raised his arm and blocked the foot, all the while keeping his eyes on his opponent. Fenra then swept her second leg up off of the ground and kicked the man on the bottom of the chin. She somersaulted around and landed perfectly on her feet while Nelson stumbled about. Fenra quickly spun around and kicked the super-soldier in the chest as hard as she could, and then did so a second time. The third kick had enough force behind it to lift Nelson off of his feet and throw him into a heavy metal crate.

Fenra turned back to go and help Alan, but a group of people rushing past her caused the redhead to stop. Jamie, Nick, Coach, and Ellis surrounded Alex and held their guns up to him. Zoey meanwhile tried to undo Fenra's handcuffs while Rochelle provided cover from whatever could show up to attack.

"If you got any sense in that head," Coach began, quickly cocking his shotgun to emphasis his point, "You'll let the boy go."

Alex slowly turned his eyes over at Coach, still maintaining his tight hold on Alan. The super-soldier quickly released his hostage and grabbed Coach's shotgun. Nick and Ellis raised their guns up while Jamie pulled his combat knife out. Coach, in an act that surprised everyone, head butted Alex, which knocked him off balance, and then cracked the end of his gun across the super-soldier's jaw. Alex spun around and smacked onto the ground hard, rendered unconscious.

"The Director is getting away," Alan shouted to his fellow survivors as Zoey came up to undo his handcuffs as well.

The engines to the Director's private jet roared to life. The survivors all took several steps away from the deafening machine.

"Stop him," Fenra barked angrily.

"We have a contingency plan," Jamie shouted over the engine. The brunette pointed to the back of the hanger. Alan and Fenra both turned around, seeing Nicole aiming a lengthy sniper rifle and Doc standing guard behind her.

"Jamie," Alan slowly asked, "that's a big gun…"

"Anti-tank sniper," Jamie corrected. "Makes a big bang! Get down!" The survivors quickly scrambled for cover.

Nicole zeroed in on one of the Director's engines and pulled the trigger. The bang easily audible over the roar of the engines. The bullet punched through the jet's wing and engine, creating a large enough hole with a following explosion to blow the whole wing off. The engine's explosion sparked in the fuel container, causing the rest of the ship to go up in flames.

The survivors all covered their heads as shrapnel and debris came flying over their heads and past their shields.

Nicole smirked as she lowered her weapon. Behind her, Doc let out a low whistle, "Wow. That was quite the boom."

"Impressed huh?" The blonde smiled before he leaned against the railing. On the hanger floor, the other survivors stood up and started laughing and shouting curses at the flaming jet.

"Nothing sexier than a rifle-chick."

"What about a smart guy," Nicole mused.

"Wouldn't know. Not into guys myself." Nicole rolled her eyes before she nudged Doc with her hip. "So…I guess that means we won right?"

Doc opened his mouth to answer, but he was suddenly pulled back. Nicole whipped her head around as someone spun Doc around and threw him into a wall. The newcomer spun around and kicked Nicole in the side of the jaw. The black haired woman stumbled to the side, crying out in pain and then fell to the floor.

The masked figure took the anti-tank rifle, pulled the bolt back to release the bullet in the chamber, ripped the scope off, and then threw the weapon over the railing. Instead of dealing with the two dazed survivors, the new figure jumped over the railing.

"Ah, fuck it's never that easy," Doc groaned. "Heads up guys!"

The survivors all turned around to see a figure dressed in all black, along with a ski mask, rushing towards them. "Is that a ninja," Alan asked curiously.

The figure raised their arm up, revealing an SMG in hand. Without need of an order from Jamie, the survivors all scrambled for cover as the newcomer unleashed a hail of bullets upon the hanger.

The mysterious fighter sprung high into the air and landed on the top of the flaming helicopter. On the ground, the Director's three super-soldiers soon woke up and rushed towards the newcomer. The masked fighter made their way towards the cockpit and quickly pried the opening off. The three super-soldiers stopped once they saw that the new survivor was trying to help the Director. The newcomer quickly pulled a body out from the cockpit and jumped onto the ground.

The survivors saw this, all gaping in shock when they saw the Director's unconscious, but still relatively unharmed body. "You're fucking kidding," Alan murmured.

"FINISH THE JOB," Fenra roared, jumping out of cover and rushing towards the Director.

The masked fighter looked up, seeing the redhead rushing in their direction. The mysterious newcomer looked at a watch on their wrist, and on cue a series of explosions started going off. The explosions shook the ground violently, throwing everyone off balance. The masked newcomer quickly stood up, with the Director in tow and headed toward a nearby, docked helicopter.

"You're not getting away," Fenra shouted.

The masked person looked back, realizing that Fenra could catch up to them. The mysterious person quickly pulled out a pistol, aimed it steadily and fired three shots. Fenra froze dead in her tracks, while the rest of the survivors slowed down to a stop behind her. Everyone looked over, seeing the Director's three super-soldiers fall down simultaneously.

Fenra's face twisted in horror before she shrieked, "ALEX!"

Alan watched as Amy fell down on her side, blood spilling out under her as her ponytail came undone. Slowly, he looked over to the masked fighter who was already making their way back to the helicopter. "SON OF A BITCH!"

Alan, Jamie, Zoey, and Fenra all rushed towards the mysterious fighter who had already gotten onto the boarding ramp. Rochelle and Coach moved to help the three wounded, while Nick, Ellis, and Maria all headed in the opposite direction to get their evac ready to go.

Once the masked newcomer had the Director's unconscious body strapped in, they took a moment to observe the Director. Half of his face had been burnt horribly, with his skin looking as though it had melted off. His hair was singed and left a stinking air about him. All and all the explosion left the man horribly disfigured.

The mysterious fighter turned around, just as Fenra leapt into the air, letting out a feral cry as she kicked forward. The masked fighter raised their arm up and blocked the blow, throwing Fenra back in the process. Quickly, the newcomer started advancing, swinging their arms about in a pinwheel-like fashion, both parallel and sideways to try and hit Fenra. Despite the other's speed and force, Fenra managed to block her opponent's strikes. Finally, the redhead grabbed both of her opponent's arms, holding them firmly in place. The masked opponent looked down before staring up at the seething redhead in front of her. Finally, the newcomer slammed their head into Fenra's face, knocking the redhead off balance and down the on-ramp.

Jamie and Alan moved past Fenra onto the ramp and towards the masked gunman. Jamie swung his knife forward, leaving a faint stream of light as he slashed at the opponent. His opponent took a small step back, narrowly avoiding the very tip of the blade. The masked fighter swung their hand up, knocking the blade out of Jamie's hand. Shortly after, Jamie was booted in the chest, throwing him back down the ramp and into Fenra, knocking them both to the ground.

Alan roared as he rushed forward. The masked gunman simply spun around and slammed their heel into the side of Alan's jaw. The bulky survivor stumbled to the side, catching himself on one of the ramp's pistons. Alan turned an angry glare back to his opponent before getting a quick foot to the face that threw him on top of Jamie and Fenra.

Zoey quickly flipped over the pile of survivors and dashed towards the mysterious gunman in a blur. The masked fighter took a quick, frightened step back. Zoey shot her arm forward, slamming her fist into the person's masked face. The person in all black stumbled back before turning around sharply and blocked Zoey's next strike. The masked person spun their arm around, averted Zoey's arm before throwing their own strike. Zoey ducked and swung upward. While the uppercut missed, Zoey managed to grabbed the gunman's mask. The brunette quickly tore the mask off while the wearer stepped back to try and distance themselves from Zoey.

Jamie, Alan, and Fenra all stood behind a now stunned Zoey to see who their new enemy was.

A pair of piercing blue eyes, with a scar on the side of her left eye, framed by shining black hair, light skin, and a venomous smug smirk looked back at the survivors.

"No way," Jamie murmured.

"You BITCH," Fenra roared. Alan quickly held the redhead back while Diana simply smirked at them.

"I'd be more concerned with leaving if I were you," the assassin said before turning her back. The young woman pressed a button inside of the helicopter which started to close the ramp. The survivors quickly got off of it as the helicopter started.

"How the fuck did she survive that explosion at the last base," Alan shouted.

"I don't know, but _I_ want to survive this one!" Diana's helicopter took off out of the hanger as the base began to shake and fall apart slowly.

A second, and final, helicopter started up. Maria stepped out onto the ramp and waved to everyone else, "COME ON!"

Coach carried Alex while Doc carried Nelson, and Rochelle carried Amy. "There's no way we're ALL going to fit on this damn chopper," Doc pointed out angrily.

"We'll make em fit," Coach snapped angrily. "We're not leavin them behind!"

"Damn right we're not," Fenra murmured as she helped Coach with her brother.

Suddenly, gunfire was heard, causing the survivors to duck down. Entering the hanger were the remainder of the Director's soldiers, who were frantic to look for a way out of the building.

"You're fucking kidding me right," Alan screamed. "Who has a gun!"

"Mine's low on ammo," Jamie replied. "I only got one clip."

"Mine was the anti-tank rifle," Nicole pointed out.

"My shotgun won't even pepper these bastards," Coach growled.

"I got one…" All eyes quickly snapped around to Doc. Next to the blonde, Nelson began to stir. The lumberjack pulled out a pistol from his hip's holster. "That bitch…hit us alright. But she hit the control devices on our bodies. Still hurt like a bitch, but I ain't dead yet. I couldn't control what I was doing…but hell if I didn't know what I was doing." Nelson looked up at the survivors, a genuine look of humanity in his eyes. "Sorry everyone…for my part in this." Nelson checked the clip of his pistol before slamming it back in the holster.

"Here," Rochelle said. The news reporter tossed Amy's spare pistol over to Nelson. The lumberjack took the second firearm and nodded in appreciation.

"Alan…I'm guessing since the little shit ain't with you…" Silence fell amongst the survivors. Nelson sighed, looking over at the unconscious Amy. "She's gonna have a fit when she finds out…take care of her alright?"

"You have my word man," Alan replied.

"The rest of you, find that bastard who did this to us and nail his ass good!" Nelson cocked the two pistols, "Got it!"

"You got it man," Coach shouted, holding his fist up in affirmation.

"Without a doubt," Jamie added with a nod.

"Kick their asses and this old boy might just rest in peace. Now get your asses moving!" Nelson stood up and fired his dual pistols into the CEDA soldiers. Several shocked cries rang out, followed by automatic gunfire.

"You heard the man, move!" Jamie stood up and fired a few short bursts from his SMG to help Nelson. Coach and Fenra stood up with Alex in tow while Rochelle and Doc moved behind them with Amy.

The survivors moved into the helicopter while Nelson continued to cover them. The lumberjack laughed each time he gunned someone down. This late in the game, he had taken a few bullets, but he continued to stand and fire back at the CEDA soldiers.

The survivor's helicopter then slowly took off out of the hanger and into the sky. Nelson looked back with a prideful smile on his face. "Give em hell kids…" The lumberjack turned back and continued to fire at the few remaining soldiers as the base went up in flames.

* * *

In the helicopter was complete and utter silence. This felt like their biggest failure since leaving Dead End. Doc had taken over flying the helicopter from Nick and Ellis, which helped him take his mind off the situation.

"We're low on fuel," Ellis whispered as he moved to the back of the chopper. "We'll probably have to land in about an hour…maybe go on foot or pick up a vehicle…"

"Then what," Zoey asked, looking up to Jamie, Coach, and Fenra. The three closest things the team had to leaders fell silent. "I know it feels like we lost, but are we gonna let that stop us?"

"We're following Diana, who we thought was dead," Jamie said. "For all we know she could have some sort of trap set up for us wherever she's heading."

"That's assuming she'll let us follow her," Coach added. "If we're gonna have to land in about an hour, then we lose the trial. No car can keep up with a helicopter in the air."

"We promised Nelson," Alan snapped angrily. Everyone looked over at the bulky survivor who held the resting and bandaged Amy in his lap. "If we give up now, then Andrew, Kelsey, Nelson, Michelle, Ed, and everyone else who died in this damn infection, it'll mean nothing if we don't stop this! If we don't kick the Director's ass and live to tell the tale, then what'll their deaths have meant!" The survivors fell silent on Alan's stirring speech. "I don't care if I have to sail across the seas, I'm going to find the Director and his bitchy daughter and ram a foot up both of their asses! Now who's with me?"

"Yo," Doc called out, holding his hand out from the cockpit.

"Lord knows I'm roped into this now," Nicole said with a smile on her face.

"Me too," Maria added with a peppier tone. Rochelle smiled and nodded.

"You can't go anywhere without me and you know it sucker," Jamie jested.

"Count me in too," Zoey replied. Coach nodded with a firm look on his face. Nick shrugged, turning his head to the side in annoyance. Ellis nodded with a goofy smile plastered on his face.

"I'm not letting the Director or Diana get away with what they did to my brother," Fenra stated.

"Then let's go and kick some fucking ass!"

"HOO-RAH," the Z-Team shouted.

* * *

The chopper was put on autopilot, allowing Diana to rise up out of her seat. Slowly, the assassin walked towards the back of the helicopter and sat on the seat across from her father. The Director, now fully conscious looked back at his daughter with an unwavering glare. Diana however, looked happy and calm as she observed her father, who she had completely restrained.

"So…you survived…"

"Yeah, that's twice now I've come back from the dead." Diana pulled out a pair of sunglasses from her pocket and smiled, "Tenacious aren't I?" She put the glasses on her nose and looked back at her father.

"What's this about Diana? Are you going to kill me for betraying you? Because I left you to die in that facility?"

"Oh no, no, no daddy. I've come to realize, you betrayed me MUCH earlier than that incident." The Director narrowed his eyes bitterly as Diana leaned forward. "You only experimented with the Green Flu to try and save me. You did that, but at what cost? You continued to experiment with the Green Flu afterwards and created this catastrophe that we're going through now."

"You weren't opposed to it. You shared my dream."

"A dream of a stronger world," Diana snapped, her smile vanishing in an instant. The young woman crossed her fingers in front of her face and kept her icy cold eyes on her father. "You've now just become a terrorist with a god complex…"

"How would you have done it then child? What separates you from having a god complex like me?"

Diana rose up from her seat and walked towards the cockpit. The Director watched his daughter carefully as she grabbed something and walked back towards him. The Director noticed a strange, spiral vial in Diana's hand.

"In each tube of this spiral is a different form of the Green Flu," Diana stated. The Director's eyes widened as his daughter held the virus in front of him. "I'm going to run a little test. Each virus has been modified to be compatible with one another, and not try to overpower the other as they typically do. They're modified to…work together. To create a new infected. How would you like to test it?"

"You're-," The Director was cut off when Diana stabbed the needles into his arm and injected the virus. The Director groaned, twisting around a bit in pain.

"Ironic isn't it? The viruses which you worked so hard to create…are now going to be used to kill you."

"Th…the virus doesn't kill! You know as well as I do!" Diana smirked and headed back to the cockpit, dropping the vial on the floor behind her.

"If the virus doesn't kill who you are daddy, then the survivors will." The Director grunted questioningly in pain as he glared at his daughter. "They're what their names calls them. They're true survivors. And they will kill whatever you become father. I guarantee it."

* * *

**Holy crap. A post? From me? Can it be? It's a late Christmas miracle! But yeah…sorry I've been dead for…however long it's been. Life has a way of being crazy, but I promise I'll keep trying to produce more and more chapters until this story is over and done with. I hope everyone had a good holiday season and enjoyed this chapter =)**


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